


As Time Goes By.

by Adorable Blondes (Chloe), bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Category: Chlollie - Fandom, Smallville
Genre: As Time Goes By - Freeform, Chlollie, F/M, adorable blondes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-15
Updated: 2010-11-29
Packaged: 2017-11-23 19:13:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 42,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/625613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe/pseuds/Adorable%20Blondes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)**dl_greenarrow**  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Chloe leaned sideways against the bar of the club as she waited for her drink, looking around the dark room with it's flashing bright lights. This wasn't really her scene, but then again, she wasn't sure what was anymore these days. Ever since Lex fired her from the Planet, she'd been feeling like a headless chicken for lack of a better cliched, overused expression. It had only been a couple of weeks, so she knew she had to give herself time, but sitting and thinking things through was not something she was good at, even when she _was_ thinking things through, she'd always been on the move.

And she was moving, as much as she could, anyway. She had found herself a freelance position with one of Metropolis' smaller papers, but so far, she had only had one assignment, so she had been playing sidekick to Clark pretty much full time, which was great when he was actually around. But there was only so much she could do and right now, that so much was trying to figure out who this Green Arrow figure was.

Both she and Clark had been investigating the guy since he made an appearance in Metropolis a couple of months ago, he had apparently stolen objects from the guests of a fundraiser in the city and then vanished. Vanished from Metropolis, that was, because according to the Star City Tribune, he was all over the Californian city for the past year or so, which was why Clark had picked Chloe up and dropped her off in a small, budget-friendly hotel room a couple of nights ago, so she could try and do as much research in the area as possible, but so far, nothing.

So much nothing that she had become bored out of her skull and with a little help from google, she'd found this place, just a few blocks from where she was staying and convenient enough that she decided it was better than another night of sitting on the rooftops, holding her binoculars to her face as she tried to spot the local legend.

Although, if she was honest with herself, this place as almost as boring as the rooftops she'd been spying from.

"Thank you," she told the bartender with a smile as she picked up her drink, sipping on it and considering the taste for a moment before turning her back against the bar, people watching would do until she was done with that one glass and then she'd have to figure out her next move, because the whole dry humping against strangers on the dance floor thing just didn't sound like a good plan.

It had been a long day at Queen Industries, and Oliver Queen was tired. He'd spent the majority of the day battling with board members about donating a large sum of the past year's profits toward building a new wing of Star City's hospital, for a new cancer care facility specialized for children. In the end, he'd won, of course, because he was, after all, the CEO. Still. He didn't understand why some people fought so hard against doing what, to him, was _clearly_ the right thing to do.

He had been walking home lately because he'd been restless and driving didn't seem to calm him the way walking did. And he hadn't intended to make any stops after work, but as he strolled down the sidewalk, he'd found himself pausing outside a bar he'd never really taken notice of before. He hesitated only a moment before pushing the door open and stepping inside. It was the typical bar scene with music that was too loud, people who'd already had too much to drink, and inappropriate dancing.

Sighing softly, Oliver wove his way through the crowd, loosening his tie a little as he headed toward the bar, figuring a drink would take the edge off a little. Halfway there he spotted a blond woman seated on a bar stool, legs crossed at the knees, a summery, emerald colored dress that settled right above the knees. He followed the path of the dress upward until his gaze locked on her face and he sucked in a breath, feeling like he'd just been sucker-punched in the gut. The dress only served to highlight the dazzling green shade of her eyes and he swallowed hard, freezing in place.

Another sip of her drink and Chloe paused, feeling eyes on her, she lowered her glass slightly and she couldn't tell if it was the bass of the song or if it was her heart that was suddenly beating fast against her chest, for no reason at all. She looked around, a slight frown on her face, and then she saw the source of that was suddenly making her feel unsettled. Her gaze met with his big brown eyes and her heart stopped completely for a whole second. There was something so incredibly familiar about him, but while she couldn't tell what it was, she also felt unable to look away.

Feeling like he was in some kind of hazy dream, he slowly resumed his move forward, drawn toward her inexplicably, completely unaware of everything and everyone else around him. "Hi," he said, his voice quiet, but still audible over the sound of the music.

Her mouth was dry, and all she could do was stare at the man in front of her for a long moment, the sounds and people around them completely drowned out for her, too, "hi," she said, searching his eyes, her stomach in knots.

Oliver opened his mouth to speak again, his eyes still locked on hers, familiarity tugging at him. "Have we met?"

"You look familiar," she admitted, but shook her head, adjusting the drink on her hand, "but I don't think so."

"Are you sure?" He stepped closer, an almost involuntary reaction. "You seem familiar to me, too."

"I don't know," she said, not even sure which words were leaving her mouth as she stared up at him, shifting on her seat and moving to sit on the edge of her stool.

He held her gaze, not understanding why his heart was beating so quickly against his chest. "Can I buy you a drink?"

 

"Sure," she said, not being able to think about it or the fact that she had a pretty much full glass in her hand.

Nodding a little, and motioning to the bartender, who was watching them intently, which Oliver could feel even though he wasn't looking at the man, he said, "Whatever the lady wants."

Chloe blinked, forcing herself to look at the bartender, "I'll, just-- have another one," she told him, blinking down at the glass and taking a long sip of her drink before looking at the man again.

A small smile tugged at his lips and he ducked his head a little, almost feeling _shy_. "Right, you already...had one. I didn't notice."

She smiled a little, embarrassed and nodded, "I- it's okay, these things aren't very strong." She said quietly, her eyes traveling over his features as she tried to place him.

"Sir? Would you like anything?" the bartender asked.

He barely managed to glance at the guy before looking back at Chloe. "I'll have the same." He smiled at her, nodding toward the bar stool beside her. "Would you mind if I sat down?"

Chloe found herself shaking her head before she could fully process his question, "no, go ahead."

Still holding her gaze, Oliver sat down on the stool that was beside her. "Thanks," he said softly.

She took another long sip of her drink, even as she kept her eyes on him, "what's your name?" She asked finally, still trying to place him.

"Oliver," he told her without hesitation. "What's yours?"

"Chloe," she said quietly, still studying him closely, her stool turned so it would face his.

"That's a beautiful name," he murmured, searching her eyes. "It suits you."

Chloe couldn't help but smile as she kept her eyes on his, "thank you."

The breath caught in his throat when she smiled at him for the first time. "Wow."

She blinked and raised her eyebrows, her eyes widening a little, "excuse me?" She asked, confused.

Oliver's eyes widened, as well, as he realized he'd spoken aloud. "Your smile...it's...wow," he said, embarrassed. In the back of his mind, he wondered what the hell was wrong with his brain. He was Oliver Queen. Smooth talker. The guy who made women tongue-tied over _him_. Not the guy who was tongue-tied over someone else.

Grinning shyly, Chloe lowered her head a little and shook it, "thank you. That's an unusual compliment, I think."

He ducked his head a little, too, grinning involuntarily. "I'm an unusual guy."

At that, Chloe arched an eyebrow curiously, smiling as she studied his features, "how unusual?"

"More than you could ever guess," he admitted, looking up at her and meeting her eyes once more.

"I have a pretty good imagination," she told him, finding herself wanting to be closer to him, which was ridiculous since all she knew about this guy was his _first_ name. Her eyes traveled over his, then his nose, and finally his mouth and all of the sudden, her stomach tightened and she knew exactly what it would be like to kiss him.

Oliver held his breath for a moment as he watched her gaze fall to his mouth. Slowly he reached out and touched her arm, shivering involuntarily at the contact as his eyes widened.

Chloe stilled and the instant he touched her arm, she felt like a surge of electricity running over her entire body and held his gaze again, her own eyes widening.

Not really thinking about what he was doing, he slowly trailed his fingertips up her arm, swallowing hard and meeting her eyes once more.

She shivered, staring at him unblinkingly as she moved to put her feet on the ground, shifting even closer to him.

He shifted closer to her as well, lifting his hand to her cheek. "Come home with me," he murmured.

Her cheeks flushed immediately and her entire body felt like it was on fire, she nodded slowly, "okay."

Oliver leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth lightly before he rose to his feet, pulling some money out of his wallet and without so much as looking down, dropped a $100 bill on the bar.

Chloe didn't even glance back, she kept her eyes on him and a firm grip on her purse as she stood up fully, taking a single step to the side to make room for him to walk out of the stool section of the bar, her heart was pounding and in the back of her head, a tiny portion of her brain was warning her that she was going to some guy's house, some guy she had never seen before, but she was ignoring it, because she wanted to do nothing more than to feel his lips full on her mouth.

He reached down, his hand brushing against her hand and then he glanced at her sideways, lacing his fingers through hers silently.

She took his hand without hesitation, keeping her eyes on his as they made their way through the crowd.

Oliver led her outside and then paused, turning to look at her once more. "I don't have my car. Are you okay with walking? It's not far."

Nodding a little, she held her breath, "walking is fine." She told him, but didn't move as she stared up at him.

He stared back at her, his heart beating quickly in his chest. Unable to stop himself, he leaned in and kissed her, his free hand raising to cup her cheek.

She returned the kiss without hesitation, lifting both hands to his shoulders as she did and just like she had known when her eyes first fell on his lips, the kiss was familiar, deep, intense, overwhelming and comforting all at the same time.

After a long moment, he broke the kiss, pulling back enough to stare at her, dazed. "Who are you?" he whispered, shaking his head.

Her head was spinning, but she managed to stand up straight, "I was just wondering the same about you."

Oliver held her gaze, shaking his head a little. "Come on," he said softly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and backing away, toward Queen Towers.

Chloe followed and they walked in silence, it was less than a couple of blocks away and she was grateful when they made it inside the building because she was growing both anxious and impatient, she needed his lips on hers again, this time, for a much longer period of time, she wasn't even paying attention where they were going, not looking anywhere but at him even as they made it to the elevator.

The second the doors slide shut, he turned to face her once more, dipping his head and kissing her urgently. One arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer to him, the other slid into her hair.

Her arms wrapped around his neck instantly and she kissed him deeply, relieved that this was finally happening again, she slid her fingers into his hair as she tried to pull him as close as possible even as she backed up until her back was pressing against the back of the elevator.

An unexpected wave of protectiveness toward her washed over him and he was glad his hand was there to keep her head from hitting the wall. He was torn between waiting for the elevator to open on the floor to his penthouse suite or wanting to bury himself inside her right then and there. He broke the kiss, panting for breath, his eyes dark and narrowed as he gazed at her.

She whimpered at the loss of his mouth against hers, at the closeness and stared up at him, breathless, her head spinning even more than it had earlier, "how much longer?" She managed to ask, somehow aware that the elevator was still moving.

It was all he could do to tear his eyes away from her and look up at the floors. "Three more," he told her, turning to face her again.

Chloe kept her eyes on his face the entire time and unblinkingly, she reached up and cupped his cheek, brushing her thumb against his lips as she licked her own.

Oliver turned his head just slightly, kissing her thumb lightly.

All she could do was stare at him as he did it, she had expected him to that, _exactly_ , as if every time she touched his lips, he would turn his head and press a kiss against her fingers.

He met her eyes once more, then leaned in, kissing her mouth softly. "Chloe." He said her name softly before kissing her again.

She kissed him back, moving one of her arms and wrapping it around his back as tightly as she could, every single one of his touches and kisses felt familiar.

The feel of her body against his was nearly overwhelming and he slid one of his hands around to her back, slowly unzipping the back of her dress. He sighed with relief when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "Come on," he whispered.

At the noise, she opened her eyes and pushed herself off of the wall, giving him no choice but to walk backwards toward the apartment. She had never done this before, never been picked up at a bar by some random guy, most definitely had never just agreed to sex after exchanging a couple of sentences, but she couldn't wait any longer, she _needed_ him.

Oliver took her hands in his and guided her off the elevator, not bothering to turn on the light in the living room. He slipped his shoes off by the door, then backed away, down the hall, leading her toward his bedroom. He'd brought many women back to his place over the last few years, but none of those times felt like this. His heart had never beat this quickly against his chest, his entire body had never felt so _awake_.

Even as they walked into the bedroom, her heels clicking loudly against the floor, she kept wishing he wasn't holding on to both of her hands to she could start discarding his clothes on the way, because she was aching to see more, to _touch_ more of him.

He locked his gaze with hers, flipping on his bedroom light and shutting the door behind them a few seconds later. He leaned in, kissing her jaw softly.

Chloe gasped quietly at the feel of his warm lips against her skin again and reached for his shirt, starting to undo button by button, but she wasn't patient, so she tugged on it hard, until the rest of the buttons went flying in all directions.

He shrugged his suit jacket off quickly, keeping his gaze on her as he pulled the shirt off next. "Impatient," he teased, brushing his nose against hers.

She sucked in a breath and looked up at him, "apparently," she whispered, not sure what had come over her.

"It's okay," he assured her, kissing the corner of her mouth.

Turning her head, she pressed her lips full against his as she ran her hands down his chest, suppressing a moan at the feel of his warm skin and toned muscles under her palms. She was pretty sure she had never been this turned on in her entire life. She felt like she was going to explode and he hadn't touched more than her arms or face yet.

Oliver slid a hand into her hair for a moment, then slowly slid it down her spine, unzipping her dress the rest of the way and sliding one spaghetti strap off her arm.

After a long moment, she broke the kiss, breathless once more ad she shivered under his touch.

He smiled faintly at her shiver, even as he suppressed one of his own, leaning in and kissing her collarbone before reaching for the other dress strap and sliding it off her arm, as well.

She moaned quietly as she lowered her hands over his stomach, pausing and glancing down as she started to undo his belt.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, sliding the dress down her arms and then down over her hips, watching it pool on the floor at her feet. "Wow," he whispered.

With a deep, shaky breath, she looked down at herself then back at him, her bra and panties didn't match, but he didn't seem to mind, in fact, the way he was watching her alone made her shudder lightly.

"You are gorgeous," he murmured, kissing her shoulder softly and letting his hands settle on her hips.

"Thank you," she whispered, turning her head and brushing her nose against his ear as she moved to undo his pants, then pushed them down and off of him, leaving him in his boxers.

He closed his eyes, letting his cheek rest against hers for a moment, suddenly feeling a sense of complete calm washing over him.

Chloe felt it too, all the anxiety and rush suddenly turning into a calmness that she didn't understand, but all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and pull him closer, so she did. She was done questioning her actions for the night.

Oliver kissed her jaw softly, then guided her back over toward his King-sized bed, lifting one hand to cup her cheek.

She lifted her head and looked up at him, walking backwards until the back of her thighs hit the bed, which was so high, she actually had to push herself up on it even though she still had her heels on.

He locked eyes with her, slowly sliding his body over hers as she leaned back on the bed. "Hi," he murmured, brushing his nose against hers and then kissing the corner of her mouth.

"Hi," she breathed, smiling a little as she pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth too.

He couldn't help but smile back at her, once more feeling mesmerized by the sight. He shifted slightly, gazing at her for a long moment before letting his eyes travel lower. He slid one hand from her hip to the front enclosure of her bra, then glanced up to meet her eyes once more, giving her time to change her mind.

A breath caught on her throat as she held his gaze, pursing her lips together, she nodded slightly, not sure how she had gotten his unspoken question, but knowing that had been what his look meant.

Oliver carefully undid the bra clasp, drawing in a breath and swallowing hard as he parted the material slowly. "Beautiful," he whispered.

She still couldn't look away from him, with a deep breath, she lifted her hand to cup his cheek even was he looked down at her body.

He looked up at her once more. "You're incredible," he murmured, leaning into her touch.

"So are you," she whispered, brushing her thumb over his cheek. She barely knew this man, but she knew it was true.

Oliver kissed her thumb once more, then slowly lowered his hand to cup one of her breasts. He met her eyes once more, then dipped his head and gently wrapped his lips around her nipple, flicking it with his tongue.

"Oh," she moaned, her breasts suddenly felt like they were on fire and her back arched instantly. His mouth, his mouth was amazing and she'd known that the second she looked at his lips.

He groaned softly at how responsive she was to such a simple action, then shifted to pay her other breast the same attention, his hand resting lightly against her abdomen.

"Oliver," the name just rolled out of her lips and she opened her eyes a little wide, cocking her head to try and look at him as she slid her fingers through his hair.

Oliver shuddered as she cried out his name, and he lifted his head to look at her once more.

She took a deep breath and held his gaze, she wanted to ask him if he felt it too, but she didn't have to, "I'm ready." She whispered. She was more than ready, she didn't think she could wait any longer.

He nodded slightly, sliding his hands down to the elastic of her underwear and tugging them off her gently, leaning in and pressing a kiss against her stomach wordlessly. He lifted his head to look at her again, then smiled softly, reaching over to the nightstand and opening the drawer. He pulled out a foil packet and held it up for her to see.

Chloe nodded a little and took a deep breath, trying for a smile, she hadn't even thought about protection and she was relieved he had because of all the bad choices she'd probably already made that night, that would have been the worst one.

Noticing she suddenly looked nervous, he paused. "Chloe, it's okay. We don't have to..."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head, "no, I want to." She told him, lifting a hand to his arm.

Oliver relaxed at her quick assurance, nodding a little and kissing her softly as he let his hand trail down to her core, stroking her lightly and keeping his gaze on her face.

The surge of electricity she felt when he kissed her had been multiplied by a thousand at his touch and she moaned loudly even as she shuddered hard, "please," she said weakly.

Drawing in a breath, leaning in and kissing her once more before shifting and removing his boxers without further hesitation. He reached out to pick up the condom package once more.

Chloe just watched him once more, the anticipation building up again, more and more as her eyes traveled over his perfect body, so perfect she kept wanting to reach out to make sure he was real and that they _really_ were there, because this all felt like a dream, the situation, their actions, the way she felt like she knew him, but she knew she was awake because everything was too intense, too vivid for it to be in her head.

Oliver slid the condom over himself and then slid his body over hers, brushing his nose against her cheek. "You can touch me," he whispered, kissing her collarbone.

She shivered slightly and closed her eyes, lifting her hands to his back, "I'm just trying to make sure you're real," she whispered back, turning her head and sighing deeply, suddenly feeling lightheaded as all she could smell was him.

He paused at that, closing his eyes, as well. "I know the feeling," he whispered.

After being quiet for a second, she reached between them and took him in her hand, opening her eyes wide and turning her head to look at him as he guided him toward her.

He drew in a breath, locking gazes with her as she led him to her entrance. Still holding his breath, he pressed forward a little.

Chloe held her breath too, stilling as she waited for him to move inside all the way, she kept her eyes on his and nodded a little, already feeling him stretching her.

Oliver reached down and slid his fingers through hers as he eased inside of her slowly, not wanting to hurt her. "You okay?" he murmured, nuzzling her nose.

"Yeah," she breathed, holding on to his hands and tightening her grip on them, giving her body a moment longer to adjust to his presence then moving her hips tentatively, there was a little bit of pain, but it didn't matter, just like everything else about this man she barely knew, he felt amazing, like he completed her in a way no one else ever could.

He kissed her mouth softly, sinking into her the rest of the way and dropping his head against her collarbone. "God, Chloe," he whispered. "You feel amazing," he murmured, even though the words didn't come close to what he really felt. It was indescribable.

"I was just," she murmured, pausing for a breath, "thinking the same thing." She told him, turning her head toward his.

Oliver lifted his head to gaze at her, then kissed her softly, shifting slightly and thrusting into her slowly.

Chloe moved with him slowly, returning the kiss and even though her body was responding to his in every possible way, she felt calm, this felt right, like they were supposed to be right there at that very moment, and Chloe didn't even believe in destiny.

After a moment, he rested his forehead against hers, surprised by how quickly and easily their bodies fell into a rhythm together, like they'd done this before or had been doing this forever.

She kept her eyes on him, moving together as they both started picking up speed, she lifted her hips more, causing him to slide in even deeper, "god," she breathed, wrapping her fingers over his hair to keep him from pulling his head away.

Oliver slid his arms beneath her and flipped them so she was on top of him, keeping her close with one arm wrapped around her waist. He slid his other hand between them, stroking her in time with his thrusts.

"Oh," Chloe moaned loudly, shuddering hard as the calmness she felt became less obvious and the fiery electricity that was running through her body since he first touched her arm became her focus once more as she placed her hands on either side of his head and moved against him, faster.

Leaning up a little, he captured her lips in an urgent kiss, tugging her down closer to him with his forearm.

She returned the kiss with just as much urgency as she leaned down on her elbows and cupped his face in both her hands, slamming her hips against his with the same urgency as their kiss.

Oliver shuddered beneath her involuntarily, thrusting up into her just as hard and fast as she was urging herself onto him. "Chloe," he groaned, gripping her hip with his free hand.

"Oliver," she moaned against his mouth, closing her eyes tightly and arching her back as she got closer and closer, her muscles clenching to him and a moment later, she shuddered hard, her moan turning into a loud cry as her orgasm hit her with such an incredible force, she could feel it in every inch of her body.

His orgasm hit the same second hers did and he shuddered once more, violently. Everything about it was more intense than it had ever been for him, heightened and prolonged. He swallowed hard, dropping his head back against the pillow and watching her as she rode out her own pleasure. The expression on her face was enough to make him groan again, licking his lips.

Her entire body gave and she laid on top of him, her muscles only now settling as her body felt more relaxed than it ever had before, with wide eyes, she looked up at him, trying to read his expression and see if he felt anything like she did.

Oliver met her eyes and smiled, reaching up and gently stroking the hair back and out of her face, his thumb rubbing her cheek gently. "That was..."

"...Wow," she tried, smiling a little too as she leaned into his touch.

"Very wow," he agreed softly, still trying to catch his breath.

Chloe shook her head a little and smiled, pressing her lips to his once more as she ignored all of the questions that were popping in the back of her head already, she wasn't going to think.

He kissed her back without hesitation, trailing his fingers lightly down her spine. "Stay the night," he whispered.

She shivered, slowly looking at him, "are you sure?" Because she didn't want to leave, but he barely knew her.

Oliver nodded silently, holding her gaze. "I'm positive."

With her gaze on his, she lifted her hand to cup his cheek and brushed her thumb over his bottom lip softly, then nodded a little.

He kissed the tip of her thumb without thinking about it. Somehow he knew neither of them would be getting much sleep that night.

Not by a long shot.


	2. As Time Goes By

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By  
Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

When he awoke the next morning, he reached out for her instinctively, his eyebrows furrowing when he found only empty bed space. _Cold_ empty bed space. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. "Chloe?" he called tentatively, even as his chest tightened. He knew somehow, that she was gone. She'd left.

And she hadn't even said goodbye.

* * *

She straightened her dress in the elevator then slid her shoes on, taking a deep breath as she watched the numbers changing. And then she stilled when she noticed the logo. Queen Industries. Queen. Oliver Queen. As in, the heir of Queen Industries. Her heart, which was beating fast against her chest as she made her escape, sunk. She had spent the night with the city's playboy billionaire.

* * *

Oliver made his way out of the bedroom, heading toward the fridge and pulling out the orange juice. He poured himself a glass of it, feeling completely dazed. He didn't understand why she'd left without a word. They'd spent the entire night alternately dozing and making love. It had been intense, soul-shaking. She had gotten to him in a way no other woman ever had.

* * *

Her hands were shaking slightly as she rushed her way out of the building, her chest was so tight, she felt a... loss. Like she had just lost someone she loved, like she was never going to see him again, and she probably wasn't. Her head was still spinning from everything that had happened and she still didn't know _exactly_ what that had been. It was the single most intense experience of her life and she still didn't understand what had happened.

* * *

He stared out the window that overlooked the city, a blank expression on his face. It had been a one night stand.

Nothing more. He'd had plenty of one night stands.

So why did he feel so empty now?

* * *

She pulled out her phone from her small purse to check on the time only to find the battery had died sometime during the night. Chloe cursed under her breath and picked up her pace, heels clicking on the concrete floor and the sun was already hot, people dressed in suits were making their way into all of the downtown Star City buildings and she knew it had to be at least past eight if not later, which meant, it was past ten in Metropolis and Clark was supposed to be there to see her first thing in the morning once he was done with his chores and knowing her best friend, she knew he wasn't going to pay attention to time zones.

With a deep breath, she walked past the front desk and up the narrow stairs to the small hotel she was staying at, holding her breath, she turned the key and stepped inside, her heart sinking when she saw the tall brunette standing there.

"Chloe." Clark's eyes were filled with worry. "Are you all right? I was getting worried."

"Hey," she told him, trying for a smile, "I'm okay," she promised quietly, trying for reassuring, she wondered if Clark was going to pay enough attention to her outfit or if she could get away with saying she just ran downstairs to get a bagel.

"You're sure?" He studied her for a moment. She seemed okay.

"I'm sure," she told him as she moved farther into the room, away from him as she took off her shoes, her heart beating fast and she willed herself to calm down because she knew he could hear it.

Clark raised an eyebrow. "Did you find anything?"

She had found something, something amazing and earth-shattering, she just didn't know exactly what it had been. Her eyes glazed slightly and then she shook her head, realizing she still owned Clark an answer, "not really."

He frowned a little. "Nothing? I thought Green Arrow was all over the papers here."

"Oh," she paused, trying to pull herself together, "I mean, yeah, I found... articles."

"But not anyone who'd seen him?" He watched her.

"No eye witnesses," she said with a nod, doing her best not to seem distracted.

Clark sighed, looking disappointed as he sat down on the edge of her bed. "Oh."

Chloe almost sighed too when he sat on the bed, her stomach turning a little, she wanted to be alone, to take a long shower and curl up on the bed to try and begin to understand what she was feeling, try to understand why the two things she wanted to do was either run back to the Queen tower or break down and cry for hours, try to understand why when she woke up this morning she felt like whispering 'I love you' to the man who was pretty much a complete stranger.

He didn't notice her inner dilemma. He sighed again, raking a hand through his hair. "All right. I guess we should get back. Lana will be awake soon."

She took a deep breath and blinked, looking at Clark. "I think I wanna go back, Clark." The words slipped her mouth before she could catch them, but she was pretty scared and she knew that, if she stayed, she would run back to him and she couldn't do that. Not with the overwhelming need for him she was feeling, that wasn't natural, it wasn't _normal_ , it most certainly wasn't healthy.

Clark frowned. "That's what I just said, Chlo." He watched her for a moment. "Are you sure you're all right? You seem distracted."

"Yeah, I'm okay," she took a deep breath and started moving around the room, picking up the few things she'd brought with her, a couple of changes of clothes and her laptop, "let me grab my stuff and we can leave."

He paused. "All right. Maybe I should grab you some coffee while you get your stuff together."

Smiling a little, sincerely this time at his offer and nodded, "thanks, Clark. I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

He nodded too, offering her a small, somewhat uncertain smile before heading out the door.

Chloe waited until the door was closed and plopped down on the bed heavily, her chest painfully tight as she wrapped her arms around herself. It was true that she had the tendency of becoming emotionally attached to people, but the way she felt now, it was worse than any heartbreak she had ever experienced before and she couldn't help but wonder what the hell was wrong with her.

* * *

Oliver sat behind his desk at Queen Industries, staring out the window, barely paying attention to the fact that his telephone was ringing.

But Hal didn't wait for Oliver's assistant to get his permission before making his way into his old friend's office, a smile on his face as he walked inside, "you should pick up that, Queen, could be important." He called as his eyes fell on his friend's back.

Oliver blinked a few times, then looked over at him, his eyes widening. "Hal? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, rising to his feet and smiling.

He patted the airforce shield on his uniform's jacket, "work, I thought I'd stop by, make sure you're keeping yourself out of trouble."

"Trouble, yeah." He sighed a little, then shook his head. "How've you been? It's been awhile."

"Not bad, work's been busy," he said casually, "what kinda trouble are you talking about here?"

"Not the kind you're thinking," he resonded with a small smirk.

"I guess that's good news," he said, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck and smiling a little, "haven't heard a lot about you on the news lately."

"Trying to stay out of the news, believe it or not."

"A few months go by and it's like I don't know you anymore, Ollie. What's have you been doing?"

Oliver's thoughts immediately turned to the small blond he'd spent the night with just the night before and he swallowed hard. "Work mostly."

"Yeah?" Hal asked, curiously, "this work or the other one, because you don't seem overly interested in this kind."

He was silent for a moment. "I met someone."

"Someone?" He echoed.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Her name's Chloe."

''Who is she?" Hal asked, interested

He shook his head a little. "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know her last name." He sighed softly.

"Okay?" He frowned, "where did you meet her? What do you know?"

"I met her last night, actually." He paused, grimacing a little. "At a bar downtown."

Hal gave him a look, "and she was talented in bed? That's not really _meeting_ someone, Ollie."

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "That's not what I meant, Hal."

Now Hal was confused, he cocked his head, "explain."

"I'm not sure that I can." He sighed softly, raking a hand through his hair and sitting down in his chair once more.

"Man, you're not making much sense," he said, a little worried.

"Have you ever just met someone and felt like you already knew them?"

He considered then shook his head a little, "like deja-vu?"

"No. More like..." Oliver paused, trying to find the right words. Then he sighed. "I don't know."

"Don't get mad," he said, cocking his head and studying his friend for a moment, "but you're not into the drugs thing again, are you?"

He just gave Hal a look.

Hal raised his hands and shrugged, "had to ask."

"I'm not taking anything. I had one drink last night and I didn't finish it."

"Okay, so you met her and what?" He asked, frowning a little.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "There was something there, Hal."

"That's good, man" he said, still frowning a little, "when are you seeing her again?"

"She was gone when I woke up this morning," he said, his voice dropping. "So maybe never."

Hal winced a little and raised his eyebrows, "so go back to where you met her tonight, maybe she'll be there."

He paused at that, considering, then shook his head. "I don't think so," he said softly. "She didn't strike me as the type to frequent the scene."

"Well, do you know _anything_ else?"

Oliver looked at his friend and shook his head silently before dropping his gaze to the desk.

"C'mon man, nothing? You didn't talk at all? No accent or anything?"

"No accent," he told Hal. "Classy. But not snobby."

"Well, city girl, then?" Hal asked, trying to think of any other clues.

He paused again. "City girl. Definitely."

"California girl?" He asked curiously.

"I don't think so," Oliver admitted.

Hal sighed, frowning, "seriously? You didn't talk about _anything_ else? You don't know her favorite color or even her age?"

"There wasn't...much talking," he confessed, looking down and suddenly regretting that.

Shaking his head, he reached over and patted Oliver on the back, "the rest of us can only dream about that kind of talent, Ollie."

"It wasn't just sex, Hal," he said, shooting the other man a glare.

"Never said it was," he told him, raising his hands once more, "just saying it's pretty impressive you can talk a girl into sleeping with you without exchanging more than a couple of sentences."

"Yeah, well. Now I wish I'd at least gotten her last name," he said with a soft sigh.

"You found her once, maybe you'll find her again," he suggested, patting Oliver's shoulder, "now what do you say we grab some lunch?"

Oliver smirked involuntarily. "You mean why don't I buy you some lunch?"

"Airforce has some pretty good benefits but doesn't pay nearly as much as owning half the town," he smirked back at him.

He simply shook his head with amusement.

* * *

"You did _what?_ " Lois practically shrieked, whirling around to face her younger cousin, coffee sloshing out of her mug and onto the floor. She promptly ignored the spill.

Chloe winced and took a step back protecting herself from the hot liquid, "I didn't _know_ it was him, Lois, I don't even know why I agreed to it in the first place! I mean, it's like I had no control over my actions and I had had about half a drink!" she defended herself.

She waved her hand dismissively. "Forget about _that_. I'm just jealous. Was he good? I've heard things..."

Raising her eyebrows, Chloe paused and shook her head, considering her cousin for a moment then looking away, "I can't even... I don't even know how to describe it."

"Wow," Lois said, watching her intently. "Left you speechless."

Sighing deeply, Chloe plopped down on the couch, "not just because of the sex," she admitted quietly.

She arched an eyebrow at that. "Meaning what?"

"I don't know..." she said, her voice still quietly as she thought back when he first touched her arm, or how she suddenly seemed to need him more than she'd ever needed anyone else before, "it was _intense_ , Lo. Like I knew exactly what he was going to do and was never disappointed when he did it."

At that, Lois stared at her for a moment. Then she moved over to sit beside her on the sofa. "When you say you knew what he was going to do...do you mean _knew_ knew?"

"Kinda?" Pursing her lips together, she looked over at Lois, "like we had done that thousands of times before."

She frowned a little. "And you'd definitely have told me if you'd been banging Oliver Queen before now."

"Pretty sure I would've remembered having sex with someone else, Lois," she said quietly then took a deep breath, "maybe I was just imagining it, I mean, he is a playboy, of course he knew what he was doing and I had only had sex with _Jimmy_ before, Oliver just blew my mind and I couldn't think straight and that's why I think there was something else."

Lois watched her carefully for a long moment. "No," she decided, shaking her head. "There's more to it than that."

Chloe frowned, curiously at her cousin, "how do you know?"

"Because _you_ do," she said with a shrug.

Sighing softly, Chloe shrugged, "it doesn't matter anyway because I'm not going to see him again."

"You never know. Stranger things have happened, Chloe."

"This is probably a nightly occurrence for him, Lois. Even if I did see him again, I doubt he'd remember me."

Lois sighed softly, and wrapped her arm around her cousin's shoulders, kissing her temple. "Yeah, well. Men suck anyway."

Chloe smiled a little at her cousin and leaned against her side, nodding a little, "they do."

"How about a girl's night tonight?" she suggested. "You, me, ice cream and some movie where the woman kicks ass."

"Sounds like a plan." Chloe agreed, smiling a little more even as she realized that no matter how many people she slept with in her life, sex would never be _that_ good.


	3. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1226574.html) || [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1230986.html)

Oliver sighed softly as he stepped off his private jet at the Metropolis Airport, forcing himself to smile for the photographers and reporters that were around. By now, he was used to the constant media coverage of every aspect of his life.

It didn't mean he _liked_ it. At least not most of the time.

He lifted his hand in a wave and headed for the limo that was waiting for him. He had been to Metropolis only a few months ago, and hasn't anticipated returning this soon. But there was business to be dealt with at the Metropolis branch of Queen Industries and he had to tend to it. He was, after all, the CEO. Besides, part of him was looking forward to scouting the city that night, to see if things had gotten any better since Dark Thursday's disastrous onslaught. Metropolis had been in chaos for weeks after, which was why he'd come to the city in the first place. He'd felt a tug toward it that he couldn't explain, an unsettled fear that had never made sense to him.

The city had needed all the help it could get.

And Oliver had been happy to pitch in and do what he could. Plus Lex Luthor had somehow been at the center of the entire chaotic mess, and while he still hadn't figured out exactly how or why, he was still determined to figure it out. One way or another.

Out of the blue, his mind turned toward Chloe. It had been three months since they'd shared that night together, and he still couldn't get her out of his mind. He was dreaming about her nearly every night, even though he couldn't remember the dreams when he awakened. He just _felt_ her presence.

And it was starting to drive him crazy. Every time he caught a glimpse of blond hair he was certain he'd found her, only to be left disappointed when it didn't turn out to be her.

Sighing, Oliver slid his sunglasses on and stared out the back window of the limo. Clearly he wasn't going to find her again.

He just wished he could get her out of his head.

* * *

Chloe woke up a little startled the following morning, sweating, she had kicked off the sheets and her body was hot. In every sense of the word. She groaned and rubbed her hands over her face, flashes of the dream she'd been having immediately flooding her brain as she closed her eyes. They had been in a car this time, back seat of what looked like an old fashioned car and his hands had been all over her.

She shuddered a little at the memory and took a deep breath, willing her body to calm down, then stood up, making a beeline to the shower and turning it on cold before stepping in.

With a hiss, she let the water fall down over her for a long moment before turning it to a warmer temperature. Almost _every_ morning was the same. She'd dream about him and wake up hot and bothered. She couldn't stop thinking about him during the day and those dreams didn't help at all. They were vivid, realistic and every night they were in different situations. And it wasn't always just about the sex. The lingering looks and touches, the way he made her feel warm inside, his arms around her making her feel safe, like she was exactly where she'd belonged the entire time.

Sighing deeply, she shook her head and after almost fifteen minutes, she shut off the water. It had been three months, she should have stopped thinking about him by now but with those dreams, she had no idea how she was going to manage to.

After dressing she made her way to the coffee pot and started it, Lois had already left for work and Chloe was glad to have some time to pull herself together. She walked over to the coffee table and picked up the copy of that morning's Planet from the coffee table, yawning a little and sitting down tiredly on the couch to read it, another thing about those dreams was that they made her sleep restless.

And then, as soon as she unfolded the paper, her stomach dropped. A picture of none other than the man of her dreams, literally, on the side column, letting her know that he was in town. Her mouth went dry and her heart started beating fast, she had to do something, think of something _fast_ to stop herself from going after him. She had to call Lois.

* * *

The night was crisp and clear, much cooler than what he was used to in California. He grimaced a little at his sleeveless uniform and then looked out over the city skyline once more. It was definitely quieter than it had been the last time he'd visited. But he knew that in a city the size of Metropolis, someone was bound to be out, either looking to cause trouble, or getting into trouble.

He just had to wait long enough.

And tonight he didn't have to wait too long. Within the second hour of his patrol, he heard someone scream for help and in an instant, he was gliding down the anchor line and landing on the ground without making any noise until he spoke. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, his voice distorted as he held his crossbow at the ready.

A man had his knife pressed against a woman's throat in an alley and he was about to grab her purse from her when he heard the voice, his eyes widened and he turned around, frowning, "who are you?" He asked, frowning.

Oliver couldn't help but smirk. "Green Arrow," he informed the man, taking aim and sending the man flying backwards, pinning him to the wall by his shirt sleeve. He nodded toward the woman. "Run."

The woman stared for a second then took off without another look.

But at that moment, another man stepped into the alley, and with shaky hands, he aimed his gun at the man in green and fired, holding his breath.

Oliver felt his head slam back against the wall as pain exploded in his chest. His grip on the crossbow loosened and slipped from his hands as he slowly slid down the wall, his vision blurring. Inexplicably, fear shot through him, but not for himself. His eyebrows furrowed a little as his thoughts turned to Chloe as the world began to grow dark.

Clark had been patrolling a few blocks away when he heard a gun being fired and in the blink of an eye, he was in the alley, his eyes widening as he realized who the victim of the gunshot was as he immediately recognized the green uniform. He knocked the two men out and placed a call to the police before approaching the man in the costume, "are you okay?"

He barely heard the other man as he lost consciousness, his eyes rolling back into his head.

"No," Clark murmured, shaking him a little and that was when he noticed the blood gushing from the other man's stomach, without a second thought, he picked him up and hesitated for just a second before speeding into the Talon apartment.

Chloe had been sitting by the table, on her laptop, trying to keep herself busy when she felt the familiar wind, she was about to say hi to Clark when she turned, then stilled when she saw he wasn't alone, quickly standing up, her eyes wide, "what happened?"

"He's been shot. We need to change his clothes and get him to a hospital," Clark said urgently, his own eyes wide.

Her stomach dropped and she moved closer, "I don't have any clothes here, Clark, go get him some." She told him as she moved closer to them, her eyes moving to the hooded figure currently unconscious in her best friend's arms.

Clark hesitated only a second, moving to lay the man down on the floor and then vanishing.

Chloe stared at him for a moment then moved closer, her eyes widening as she saw his profile, her heart speeding up, he looked so familiar, but it couldn't be, there was no way he was-- With a deep breath, she knelt down next to him and cupped his face in her hand, her palm immediately feeling warm and a spark of electricity running through her body. She turned his face gently toward her, her mouth dry and she was almost sure now, his skin felt familiar. But she had to know for sure, so with shaky hands, she reached down and pulled the sunglasses from his face as carefully as possible, gasping loudly when she finally saw his face. Her eyes teared up instantly and she couldn't move or take her eyes off of him.

Everything hurt. That was his first thought as he felt himself pulled in the direction of consciousness once more, his eyebrows furrowing a little as he felt a spark of familiarity against his cheek. A woman's hand. _Her_ hand.

No, it couldn't be, he thought distantly, coughing involuntarily, the bitter taste of copper in his mouth.

She didn't move until he started coughing, instinctively, she moved closer then reaching under his head, she pulled him into a semi-sitting position, "O-Oliver?" She called in a whisper, her voice shaking as much as her hands were.

His breathing was shallow, and he looked up at her with a dazed expression. "You," he whispered, coughing again.

"It _is_ you..." she whispered, lifting a hand and brushing her fingers against his cheek, both her palms were getting warmer and warmer, but she didn't know if it was because she was touching him or...

His skin felt warm where she was touching him, his eyebrows furrowing again. "How?" he murmured, turning his cheek into her palm, his vision blurring once more.

"You got hurt," she whispered, her chest tight and her own eyes were blurry with tears. Sniffing quietly, she took a deep breath and placed her hand over his wound, glancing at it then up at him again, "I can help you." She normally would have hesitated before using her powers in front of someone who was conscious, but he had had no choice but to reveal his identity for her, she didn't mind if he knew, as long as she could save his life.

The second her hand covered his wound, he felt something jarred within him, his vision going blurry and then clearing completely.

_His eyebrows furrowed a little and he glanced around, then up at the woman who was currently taking his pulse. He sucked in a breath, staring at her intently. "If I'd known getting shot would bring_ you _to my rescue, I'd have done it months ago." He flashed her a smile._

_With a soft chuckle, she shook her head, "it looks like you're not going to need my help much longer, soldier" she told him, blond curls falling against her cheek as she reached for the sphygmomanometer to measure his blood pressure._

_"Nonsense," he said without hesitation, his eyes locked on hers. "Pretty sure I could use your help for eternity." His brown eyes twinkled mischeviously._

_"Hold out your arm," she instructed him, adjusting the band around his arm once he did, her fingers brushing against his skin and her stomach tightening just slightly as she held his gaze, "as long as you don't plan on getting yourself hurt to get my help, I think we could talk about this."_

_His stomach tightened at the light touch as well, and he stared at her intently. "Talking is good," he murmured._

_She started pumping the small device with her hand and smiled shyly at him then looked down at the numbers, "maybe once you're released..." she trailed off, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes._

_He smiled back at her, an almost involuntarily response to seeing_ her _smile. "I'll buy you dinner," he suggested._

_"Have you been out of the base, soldier?" She asked quietly, smiling a little more and letting her hair fall next to her face once more as she turned her attention back to the small device, letting the air out of it and watching as it deflated slowly._

_He reached up and covered her hand with his own. "Not for awhile," he admitted, shivering involuntarily as he felt his skin tingling where he touched her._

_She held her breath, lifting her head to look at him again, her heart beating fast against her chest, "you can buy me dinner, I'll show you around." She said, keeping her voice low as she held his gaze._

_"I'd like that," he told her, holding his breath._

_"So would I," she told him, smiling slowly and holding his gaze._

"Chloe!" Clark's urgent voice broke through her haze and Chloe blinked a couple of times, her eyes widening as she glanced down, blinking a couple more times to focus her vision, she watched as the light faded from under her hand, over his chest.

Oliver blinked a few times, as well, a dazed expression on his face. He looked up at her, his eyes wide. "Chloe?" he whispered, barely aware of the other man's presence. The pain in his chest had disappeared completely.

She smiled softly at the sound of her name and looked up at him, holding his gaze, her head spinning and her hold on him loosened slightly as her eyes closed and she started sliding to the floor, her eyes closing after a moment, then everything went black.

He shot up, off the floor, his eyes widening with alarm. "Chloe!" He slid an arm around her, the other lifting to touch her cheek.

"Chloe, what did you do?" Clark called, moving to kneel on the floor on the other side of Chloe's, sighing deeply when he realized she was unconscious. His jaw tightened and he glanced at the other man, noticing he was no longer bleeding and he didn't need anymore answers.

"Who are you?" Oliver asked tensely, glancing at the other man sideways for a brief moment before looking back at her.

He took a deep breath then reached for Chloe, picking her up off of the floor carefully and standing up then looking down at the other man, "I'm Clark. I'm... the red and blue blur, as they call me."

His eyebrows furrowed at that. That hadn't been what he was asking about or expecting. But right then he didn't care very much. "Is she going to be okay?" There was more than a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Frowning, he nodded and walked over to the bed, placing Chloe over it carefully and looking down at her for a moment then sighing, "she just needs to rest for a few hours." However long that was this time. He should have known she was going to do this.

Oliver didn't hesitate before sitting down on the bed beside her, pulling his hood back and off. He leaned in and kissed her forehead without thinking about it.

Clark's eyes narrowed instantly, his jaw tightening again, "what are you doing?"

He didn't even look up at the other man, missing the tension Clark was now exhibiting. "How long will she be out?"

"It depends on how hurt you were, it could take days." He crossed his arms over his chest, "you should leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," Oliver said, his jaw tightening.

Clark's jaw tightened too and he took a step forward, "we have done enough for you."

He looked up at Clark finally, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not asking you to do anything for me," he informed him. "But I'm not leaving until I know that Chloe's all right."

He took yet another step forward, "I'm telling you she will be okay, she is none of your business."

"I _know_ her," he snapped, glaring at Clark now.

That made Clark pause, "how do you know her?" He demanded.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, looking down at her still, pale body. "We met in Star City," he murmured.

"She never mentioned meeting anyone." He said, eyes narrowing.

He flinched a little at that, suddenly wondering exactly who this Clark guy was to her.

"Where did you meet?" He pressed.

"I just told you. In Star City. Three months ago," he responded evenly.

Clark stopped, thinking for a second, three months ago had been when he had taken Chloe to Star City after all, he would just ask her about the other man when she woke up. He took a seat on the opposite side of the bed and kept his eyes on the strange man for a moment before looking at Chloe, not planning on moving until she woke up.


	4. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1226574.html) || [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1230986.html) || [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1234007.html)

It was about five hours later when Chloe stirred on the bed from a dreamless sleep and sighed deeply, her body felt heavy, relaxed, but she felt disoriented and a little dizzy. Slowly, she opened her eyes, stretching as she turned on her back and looked up, squinting a little as Clark came into focus, his worried blue eyes on her, but his weren't the only ones. She felt another pair of eyes on her and as she turned her head slightly to look at him, her heart skipped a beat and she pushed herself to a sitting position, suddenly fully awake and her eyes were open wide.

"Easy, Chloe, are you okay?" Clark asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Oliver stared back at her, his own eyes wide as they locked with hers. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," she whispered just as quietly, searching his eyes silently.

"Are you all right?" He reached out hesitantly and curled his fingers around hers.

"Yeah," she said quietly, holding on to his hand instantly then finally breaking eye contact and looking down at his uniform, holding her breath a little as she realized that she _hadn't_ dreamed it, "are you?"

"I'm fine," he said, nodding and rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "I'm not exactly sure _how_ I am, but..." He looked down at his uniform, stained with blood, then back up at her once more. "But I'm fine."

She smiled slightly at that, her face flushing a little, "I can... explain that. Kind of." She told him.

"Chloe?" Clark frowned, watching the exchange with a confused frown.

Oliver blinked a couple of times, having forgotten all about the other man sitting there.

Chloe had forgotten about Clark too, she reluctantly took her eyes off of Oliver and took a deep breath, turning to her head slightly, "it's okay," she told Clark, "we can trust him." She wasn't sure why she thought that, but she did.

Clark frowned even more at that, looking at Oliver warily. "How do you know him?" he asked, shaking his head.

"We met when I was in Star City," she whispered, glancing at Oliver, "I just didn't know he was the Green Arrow."

Without really thinking about it, Oliver reached out and tucked some hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing lightly against her cheek.

Chloe looked at him again and held her breath, "we should... talk." She said quietly.

He nodded slightly, keeping his eyes on her face. "We should. Are you feeling well enough for that?" There was worry in his voice.

"I'm okay," she promised.

Clark shifted on the bed then moved to stand up, "I don't think you should talk to him until we are sure about what he is doing."

Oliver glanced up at him. "I feel the same way about _you_ ," he said distantly. "But you're not the one I want to talk to."

"It's okay, Clark." She told him, taking a deep breath, "I'll talk to you later and explain everything," or some of it, anyway, she didn't want to think of the judgmental looks that would appear on Clark's face if he knew _how_ she'd met Oliver, "I'll be okay with him."

"How do you know that for sure?" he whispered, frowning at Oliver.

"I just do." She said firmly, "trust me?" Chloe asked quietly, her hand still in Oliver's.

Clark hesitated. "I won't be far," he told her, eyeing Oliver again with suspicion before heading for the door.

Chloe watched as he walked out and waited until the door was closed before taking a deep breath and focusing her attention on Oliver again but not saying anything this time.

Oliver gazed back at her intently, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles silently.

She tightened her hold on his hand and let her breath out slowly, leaning forward just slightly, "I can't believe you're here... and you're _him_."

"I wanted to find you," he whispered. "I just...didn't know how."

Her chest tightened and she looked down, "I'm sorry I left," she whispered guiltily, "I wasn't sure what had happened, I'm still not sure what happened, and then I found out who you were and... I didn't know if you really would have wanted to see me again."

Oliver winced at that. "I don't know what happened either, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," he admitted, meeting her eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat at his words and she sat up a little, nodding, "I haven't either, I keep dreaming about you."

He shifted a little closer to her, lifting his free hand to cup her cheek.

She lifted her other hand to cup his and held his gaze, searching his eyes.

He leaned in, brushing his nose lightly against hers and pressing a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth as his eyes drifted shut.

Chloe made a quiet noise as the turned her head and pressed her lips lightly but full on to his mouth, squeezing both of his hands in hers.

Oliver's heart was beating quickly against his chest as she kissed him back. "Wow," he murmured after a moment, resting his forehead against hers.

She smiled a little, taking a moment before opening her eyes slowly, "and I'm not dreaming this time?"

"Not unless we're having the same dream," he said quietly.

"I hope that's not the case," she said quietly, raising a hand to touch his cheek lightly.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, turning his head and kissing her palm. "This isn't normal, is it?"

"No," she whispered, touching his bottom lip with her thumb lightly, "I barely know you, but--" she paused, "I feel like I know you better than I know anyone else."

Oliver kissed her thumb, meeting her eyes once more. "What happened?" he asked quietly. "How did you heal me?"

She took a deep breath and pursed her lips together, "I have a power, I'm kind of a mutant." She said quietly, not sure how to word this since she had never told anyone other than Clark about it and she didn't think the words 'meteor freak' would mean much to him.

"You are _not_ a mutant," he said, his eyes narrowing at her words. "You're anything but."

Blinking, she raised her eyebrows, surprised by his reaction, "I-- am..." she said quietly, "I got infected by this unique kind of meteor rocks we have here in Kansas and healing is my power."

"That doesn't make you a mutant," he answered, barely reacting to the news. He kissed the palm of her hand again. "A lot of people have special gifts."

Chloe sat up and stared at him for a moment, "you know others?" She whispered, surprised.

Oliver kept his eyes on hers and nodded wordlessly.

"Oh," she let out a breath and looked down at their hands then back up at him, "and it doesn't bother you?"

Oliver smiled, but it was faint. "I'm an open-minded guy."

Chloe smiled a little more and nodded, leaning in and kissing his cheek softly without really thinking about what she was doing, then pausing and pulling back a little as a question hit her, "do you have any powers?"

He shook his head a little. "No," he said softly.

She nodded a little and took a deep breath, "then I don't understand why things have been this way."

His eyebrows furrowed a little. "What do you mean?" he asked, studying her with worry.

Chloe took a deep breath and shook her head a little, "my mom... she has a power and she can control me. She can make me do things and I have no choice but to do as she says and I thought maybe it was something like that with you too..." She admitted quietly, "when I left your place, it was like I was coming out of a really vivid dream."

Oliver paused. "You thought your mom was controlling us?" he asked softly, trying to understand.

"No," she took a deep breath, "I thought you had some kind of similar power, something that made me want to be with you as much as I did."

His eyes widened a little at that. "Oh."

"But if you feel it too..." she said quietly, shaking her head.

He reached out and slid his fingers through hers once more. "I don't know what it is," he told her. "But I feel it."

Chloe squeezed his hand back and looked down at them, then nodded a little, "we should figure out what this is." She said quietly, "things that aren't normal, they aren't usually... good things."

"Not sure I agree with that one, Chloe," he told her as a smile tugged at his mouth.

"You don't know much more than my first name," she said quietly, her stomach tight, "how can you be so sure?" Even as she asked him the question, she knew that even if he didn't have a good answer, it wouldn't matter.

Oliver met her eyes. "I dress up in green leather and jump from rooftop to rooftop. That's not exactly normal." His eyes were bright. "Doesn't mean it's bad."

Chloe considered his answer for a moment then smiled a little and nodded, taking a deep breath and shaking her head, "I went to Star City to try and find you and I didn't even realized I had succeeded."

His eyebrows furrowed. "You were looking for Green Arrow?"

She took a deep breath and nodded slowly, "we have been since you first showed up in Metropolis."

"Because that Clark guy's the Red-Blue Blur?" he asked.

Nodding a little, she shrugged a shoulder, "he didn't really agree with your Robin Hood methods and he didn't think you were much of a good guy," Chloe bit down on her bottom lip, "I was set on proving him wrong."

Oliver shrugged, as well. "I don't need his approval."

Chloe couldn't help but smile softly at that, nodding slightly, "I'm just glad he brought you here instead of taking you to a hospital."

"Me too, but...what happened to you?" he asked, his voice growing quiet.

"It's a side effect of my power," she told him, shrugging a little, "the best I can make sense of it is that when I heal someone, I transfer my energy to them and take their injury, and then I need to sleep to recharge and heal myself, but when it's really serious, I can appear dead for a few hours, no pulse or other vital signs, but I always come back." Or she had the three times it had happened anyway.

He sucked in a breath. "Take on their injury?" he echoed, his eyes widening.

"Not physically," she told him, "I didn't have a bullet wound on my chest when I healed you, but the area where the other person is hurt hurts on me too, just not as intensely."

His chest was still tight as he stared at her for a moment. "So when you healed me..."

"It kind of hurt," she said quietly, then frowned, "but not as much as it normally does."

"Not as much as it normally hurts when you heal someone?" He frowned, too.

"Yes," she agreed, frowning a little more, "it's like I wasn't completely awake..."

Oliver paused for a moment. "I have a doctor on my staff. His name is Emil Hamilton." He gazed at her. "Do you think you'd be open to the possibility of seeing him?"

Chloe blinked a couple of times, "what for?"

"To make sure that you're all right, for one. He knows a lot about people with meteor infections and metahumans."

"Oh," she looked down and swallowed hard, as much as she trusted Oliver for whatever reason, the thought of willingly getting tested on scared her, and she didn't want to end up in a lab like Lex's again, "I'll think about it." She whispered.

Oliver nodded a little. "No pressure," he said softly, watching her and feeling his chest tighten.

Pursing her lips together, she nodded a little then looked up at him, "I've had bad experiences with doctors and things like this," once more, she was talking before she could stop herself, opening up to him without him even asking further questions.

"What kinds of bad experiences?" he asked warily.

"Lex Luthor," she said quietly, "he is very interested in people with abilities..."

At that name, Oliver stilled, his eyes narrowing. "I know all about Lex Luthor and his interest in metahumans." His jaw tightened. "Are you telling me he had you in one of his labs?"

Pursing her lips together, Chloe nodded, raising her eyebrows in curiosity, "you've heard of his labs, then?"

He was silent for a moment. "A few months ago, that explosion on the edge of town. Did you hear about it?"

"The 33.1?" Her eyes widened even more and she sat up, "well, that's what we call all of Lex's meteor freak research facilities, but yeah, of course I heard about it."

Oliver gazed at her silently, nodding just a little.

" _You_ were behind it?" She asked, her eyes widening and if she wanted to kiss him before that desire had just been multiplied by a thousand.

"A few of us were," he said softly. "He had one of my friends in that facility, torturing him." His jaw tightened. "We got him out, got _everyone_ out, and sent Lex a message."

She couldn't help but smile at him as he told her that, "if there were any doubts that you're a good guy, that should settle it."

"What did he do to you?" he asked, gazing at her.

"I don't know exactly," she admitted, then took a deep breath, "he was going around abducting meteor infected people and testing on them, but once you were abducted, you just woke up in bed the next morning with a bad headache with no memory of the previous night or how you got home."

Oliver winced at that, reaching up and cupping her cheek once more, leaning in and kissing her forehead. "How long ago?" he whispered.

"About a year ago," she told him quietly, leaning into his touch instantly.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, shifting closer to her and winding his other arm around her.

"It's okay," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him and shifting closer, she wasn't usually that physical with someone she barely knew, but with him, like everything else, it was different.

He wasn't usually that physical, period. But everything about her felt different. He rested his chin on her head, closing his eyes as he held her. "I'm gonna shut him down," he said quietly.

Chloe paused at that, considering for a moment before looking up at him, "can I help?"

He paused, too, looking down and meeting her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she took a deep breath, "I've been doing my best to help Clark with what he does, but he focuses on smaller crimes, usually," or bigger out of this world kind of crime but that would have to be another conversation, "not the Lex kind."

"We try to do both," he said softly. "How long have you been helping Clark?"

"About two and half years, since I found out about his abilities," she admitted, running her fingertips over his arm without really thinking about it, it was so easy to talk to him about the things she just kept to herself.

His fingers trailed up and down her spine gently. "Long time," he murmured.

Chloe shivered a little and nodded, "feels like it's been longer than that." She admitted.

His stomach tightened at her shiver and he pressed a kiss against her ear. "I bet."

She held her breath and looked up at him for a moment, "do you want to change?" There was no way that uniform could be comfortable.

Oliver looked down at his uniform, pausing for a moment. "I don't have anything to change into unless I go back to the clocktower."

"Clark brought you back some clothes," she told him, hesitating for a moment before pulling away a little, "when he thought he had to take you in to the ER."

"Oh." He gazed at her, nodding a little. "Think this is going to have to go to the dry cleaner's." He glanced down at his uniform once more.

She raised her eyebrows, a little amused, "how can you send _that_ to the dry cleaner's? And I think you might need a new one because this one has a hole in it."

"That was...a joke actually." He grinned sheepishly. "I have more in Star City."

"Oh, good, I was wondering how much extra you'd have to tip your dry cleaners to get them to keep _that_ one silent," she said, smiling then standing up.

He chuckled, watching her as he stood up, as well. "I shudder to think."

"Well, at least _you_ could afford it," she smiled then paused as she glanced down at herself and realized her top was covered in blood, "I guess I better change too..."

Oliver's gaze trailed down her shirt and he winced. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

She nodded a little and tugged on her shirt, then turned and started toward the living room, picking up the clothes Clark had left on the floor and wincing, "hope you don't mind the plaid."

He watched her go, following close behind her. "Not my cup of tea generally speaking, but I'll make do," he murmured.

When she turned around, clothes in hand, she didn't expect him to be _that_ close, so she bumped right into him, "oh, sorry."

Instinctively his arms wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling, his eyes darkening a little. "It's okay," he murmured.

She held her breath and leaned closer, placing her hand that wasn't holding on to the clothes on his arm, "thank you for catching me."

Oliver looked down at her hand and then back up at her face once more. A soft groan escaped him and he leaned in, kissing her without hesitation.

Chloe returned the kiss instantly, dropping the clothes to the floor and wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed close to him, her entire body on fire once more, just like the first time he'd kissed her.

He hauled her off her feet, pressing her up against the wall as he deepened the kiss, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Oh my God!" Lois exclaimed, her eyes wide as she stared at the two of them from the now-open front door.


	5. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

As Time Goes By [4/13]  
Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

"Oh my God!" Lois exclaimed, her eyes wide as she stared at the two of them from the now-open front door.

Chloe moaned against his mouth the second her back hit the wall and then she stilled when she heard her cousin's voice, breaking the kiss breathlessly and turning her head in the direction of the door, looking at Lois with wide eyes.

Oliver looked up, as well, a little dazed, his grip on Chloe tightening just a little.

Lois stared back at her cousin. "Oliver Queen is in my apartment!"

With a deep breath, Chloe placed both her feet flat on the floor and shifted a little, uncomfortable, "hm, Oliver, this is my cousin Lois," she said, awkwardly, patting his arm softly to let him know it was okay. "She lives here too."

He dropped his head a little. "Hey," he said, managing a small, almost embarrassed smile.

"You found him!" Lois raised her eyebrows.

"Not exactly." She pursed her lips together, fully aware of the fact that Oliver was still pressing her against the wall and shifting a little, "more like he found me."

"He didn't even know your last name." She stared at Chloe dubiously.

Oliver carefully pulled away from her, but just a little, swallowing hard. "Billionaire resources," he said lamely.

Chloe raised her eyebrows at Oliver then smiled a little at Lois, wondering how long before she realized what other celebrity was in their apartment.

Lois rolled her eyes. "Are you sure it doesn't have more to do with the whole green leather get up, Mr. Bandit?"

Sighing a little, Chloe shook her head, "I told you it was just Green Arrow, Lois, there's no Bandit."

 

Oliver frowned. "I'm not a criminal." He paused. "Okay, technically I am, but things aren't always how they seem."

She pursed her lips, staring at him, hard.

"I _told_ you," Chloe said again, pushing Oliver away just slightly because having him pressed up against her like that wasn't helping her think straight to make her point, "it's like the whole Robin Hood thing, steals from the rich, gives to well, the museums."

"And only things that were stolen in the first place," he added, taking a step back from Chloe.

" _See_?" Chloe said, trying to ignore the sudden loss she felt as he stepped away, "He's a good guy, Lo."

Oliver felt his chest tighten and fill with warmth at her words.

Lois watched him a moment longer, then glanced at Chloe, sighing heavily. "Figures. I have the biggest story of the century in my freakin' living room and I can't do anything about it."

Chloe's face softened a little at that and she smiled at her cousin, she knew exactly how that felt. "Thank you."

She shook her head a little. "I need coffee."

Pursing her lips together, Chloe looked at Lois then up at Ollie. "You okay?" She knew that if it was Clark, he would be freaking out about people finding out his secret, she didn't know how Oliver felt about it.

Oliver looked at Lois hesitantly and then down at Chloe uncertainly.

"She won't tell," Chloe promised, reaching down and taking his hand, "Don't worry about her."

He slid his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. "Okay," he said softly.

Smiling softly, she reached down and picked up the clothes from the floor before handing them to him, "the bathroom is over there," she said, pointing behind them.

"Right. Thanks." He took the clothes from her, glancing once more at Lois, then heading into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.

Chloe smiled a little and turned to watch him as he walked into the bathroom then sighed deeply as he closed the door before turning toward her cousin again.

 

Lois raised her eyebrows. "Holy _crap_ ," she whispered.

Blinking, she raised her eyebrows and cocked her head at Lois, "What?"

"Oliver Queen is the freakin' _Green Arrow_! And you had _sex_ with him! And were about to again by the looks of it!"

Chloe's face went pink instantly and she pursed her lips, trying to hide her smile, "Does it make it any better that I didn't know he was either when I did have sex with him?"

Lois gaped at her.

" _What_?" Chloe repeated.

 

"Nothing, nothing." She sighed and glanced toward the bathroom, then back at Chloe. "I should make myself scarce so you and the bandit can have sexy times, shouldn't I?"

Chloe had to stop herself from saying yes, "I don't know if he's even gonna stay, Lo, and I don't wanna kick you out of your apartment." At least she was doing her best to be fair to her cousin.

Lois smirked at her. "He's gonna stay. Just remember to return the favor if and when I ever land a hot boyfriend. Or you know, a new vibrator."

"I'll keep that in mind," Chloe said, shaking her head a little, "but I'll text you if he has to go."

"If not, I'll just crash with Smallville." She grinned. "Someone has to torment him a little anyway, right?" She patted her cousin's shoulder. "Have _fun_."

"Thank you, Lois." She said, giving her a knowing smile.

Lois beamed and headed out the door. "Don't do anything _I_ wouldn't do!" she called as she left.

"I don't think there _is_ anything you wouldn't do, Lo..." She smiled, shaking her head and heading to her closet to change.

"Exactly!" Lois shouted, heading down the stairs.

Smiling to herself Chloe took off he shirt she'd been wearing and pulled on a cuter top, then chose a pair of shorts that weren't pajama bottoms like the ones she had on until now. She really needed a shower but... that would come eventually.

Oliver stepped out of the bathroom a moment later, wearing a pair of jeans and no shirt. "Are we safe?"

"We're--" she stopped talking when she stepped out of the closet and looked at him, her eyes widening a little, her mouth going dry, "--safe."

He stared right back at her, swallowing hard. "Wow," he whispered.

She looked at him for a moment and took a deep breath, "Lois won't come back unless I let her know you left." She whispered, holding his gaze.

"Really?" He took a step toward her.

Biting down on her bottom lip she raised her eyebrows and nodded, "Can you... stay?"

"I'm not sure I can leave," he whispered, moving closer to her.

Letting out her breath, she relaxed a little and stepped closer too, touching his arms, "good."

Oliver slid his arms around her, pulling her close to him once more, warmth spreading through him at the close contact. "Chloe..."

She slid her hands up his arms and held her breath, looking up at him, her eyes wide as their bodies came closer together, "we should-- try to understand this. Why this happens."

"We should," he murmured, his gaze dropping to her mouth.

Chloe tiptoed and brushed her lips to his, "but not now."

"Definitely not now," he agreed, capturing her lips in a kiss.

* * *

Chloe had no idea how much time had gone by, but it felt both like hours and seconds as she moved to lay down next to him, breathless and a little dizzy, her body still trembling. "Wow..." She whispered after a long moment, shifting closer and pressing her lips to his shoulder wetly.

Oliver blew out a breath, sliding a hand into her hair and kissing the top of her head. "Yeah," he whispered. "Me too."

"This," she started then paused for a deep breath, "is definitely _not_ normal."

He stroked his fingers down her back in a soothing motion. "No, I guess it's not," he murmured.

She shivered lightly and lifted a hand to cup his face, "tell me more about you." She whispered after looking at him in silence for a long moment.

"What do you want to know?" he asked softly, leaning into her touch.

"Well, I--" she paused and smiled, embarrassed, "I pretty much memorized every article ever written about you so far, so... whatever the papers didn't tell me, like about your green leather fetish."

He smiled at that, turning his head and kissing the palm of her hand. "That aside, there's really not much to know." He paused. "Especially if you've read the papers."

"Maybe I need to go back and read all the articles on Green Arrow now," she said in a whisper, smiling softly.

"Some of them aren't very flattering. But most of them about Oliver Queen aren't either," he admitted, gazing at her.

"Well, I used to be a journalist, so I ignored whatever the tabloids said because I know how they work." She told him.

He was quiet for a moment, studying her. "What if...a lot of the things they said were true?" His voice was soft.

"It doesn't matter," she said quietly, realizing she meant it even as she spoke, "I don't think anything matters."

Oliver leaned in and kissed her softly, relaxing a little.

Chloe kissed him back, wrapping her arm around him and shifting closer.

He leaned his forehead against hers after a long moment, closing his eyes. "I've never met anyone like you," he whispered.

"I never have either," she whispered back, "no one has ever made me feel like you do."

He kissed the corner of her mouth softly, bring a hand up to her cheek. "Not even close."

She held her breath and and brushed her nose against his, "what happens next?" She asked, her voice so quiet, it wasn't even a whisper, as her chest tightened, suddenly very painfully at the thought that she might not be around him like this anymore sometime soon.

As if feeling her tension, his other arm tightened around her just a little. "I don't know," he admitted just as quietly. A small smile tugged at his lips. "I just realized...I still don't know your last name."

"Oh," she smiled a little, still tense, her own arm tightening around him, "Sullivan, Chloe Sullivan."

"Well, now you're not going to get away so easily," he teased, kissing the tip of her nose.

"You know where I live," she pointed out, "and I don't want to get away at all."

"Good," he whispered, resting his head on her pillow.

"How long are you in Metropolis for?" She whispered, her nose against his as she looked him in the eyes.

"I'm here on business with Queen Industries. So...for as long as it takes to straighten things out there."

"Oh," she nodded a little and broke eyes contact a second later.

"Chloe." His voice was soft and he tucked his fingers under her chin. "I'm not going to just disappear from your life unless you tell me to go."

Her eyes teared up slightly and she didn't understand how she could be so incredibly attached to him already, but the thought that he wouldn't be there, with her, was making it hard to breath, so she just nodded slightly.

His chest tightened at the sight of her tears. "Please don't cry," he whispered, tightening his arms around her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry," she whispered back at him and shook her head, hiding her face on his neck, "I don't understand why I'm acting this way."

"It's okay," he whispered, stroking her hair gently. "It's okay. I'm right here."

Chloe wrapped her arms tightly around him, "I just feel like--" she swallowed, "if you leave, I won't see you again."

Oliver frowned at that, tightening his arms around her instinctively in return. "What if...you came with me when I went back?" he murmured. It was crazy and some part of his brain knew it. He barely knew this woman, yet he felt things for her he'd never felt for another woman before. The thought of leaving her behind was physically painful.

She looked up at him again with tear-filled eyes and stared at him for a full moment, "you're serious," she said quietly, surprised and this time, completely surprised, because she had been _sure_ she was going to have to let him go.

"I am," he said softly. "I know it sounds crazy." He searched her eyes. "But I don't care."

Chloe swallowed dry, keeping her eyes on his, "I can't _not_ be wherever you are. I don't understand, this isn't like me, Oliver, but I feel like if I'm not around you..." she trailed off, because if those words made her sound crazy telling him she would die, would make it even worse.

He nodded a little, his chest tightening again. "I know. Me too," he admitted, kissing her softly. "So we'll just have to figure out a way to stay together, even if it does seem crazy."

"Okay," she whispered, kissing him once more, a little deeper, not hearing when someone opened the door to the apartment.

At least not until they called out, "Chloe?"

Oliver froze, his eyes widening a little. "Oh hell." He quickly covered the two of them up with a blanket, wondering how badly the Red Blue Blur was going to take it when he found Chloe in bed with _him_ , naked.

"Clark!?" Chloe gasped, helping Oliver pull the blanket up, "what are you _doing_ here?"

Clark's eyes widened and in shock, he stared at the pair for a moment then quickly turned his back to them, "what are _you_ doing with _him_?"

"Awkward," Oliver mumbled, looking at Chloe and then toward Clark. "Did you even knock?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I have a _key_ ," Clark informed Oliver, his back still to them.

"Which you're supposed to use in case of an _emergency_ , Clark! Not to get in here when we're _home_ ," she told him, exasperated.

Oliver kissed her softly on the forehead, then reached over the side of the bed, grabbing their clothes. "We're getting dressed. Keep your back turned."

Chloe's eyes narrows at Clark's tense posture and the fact that his hands had turned into fists, the thought of changing the lock on him crossing her mind briefly, but she knew it wouldn't make a difference when he could walk right through the _wall_. She remained silent until they were both dressed, then made her way into the small kitchen and started to make coffee, turning on the lights on her way, "this better be good."

"I came by to make sure you were all right," he informed her, frowning deeply and shooting a glare in Oliver's direction.

She took a deep, calming breath, she knew Clark meant well and she was just annoyed he had interrupted them, "I'm okay, Clark, I thought Lois was going over to the farm."

"Yeah, thanks for that," he grumbled.

Chloe rolled her eyes and shook her head, "is there something going on that you need my help with?" She offered, doing her best to remain patient.

Clark glanced at Oliver warily as the other man leaned against the wall, looking uncertain. "Like I said, I came by to make sure you were all right, Chloe. I didn't expect to find you ...busy."

"I'm good, Clark," she told him, her voice a little more firm than before, "and I would really appreciate it if you knocked next time you come by so we are not in this situation again."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Can we talk? Just the two of us?"

Oliver's jaw tightened a little involuntarily. "I'll...take a walk," he said, glancing at Chloe.

"No," Chloe's eyes widening a little, "stay," she whispered to him, she didn't want him to leave, to take the chance of him vanishing, she turned to Clark, "we can step outside."

Oliver paused at the look on her face, nodding slightly as his expression softened once more. "All right."

"I won't be long," she promised quietly and smiled a little at him before glancing at Clark and making her way out of the apartment without waiting for Clark.

Clark shot Oliver a look and then followed Chloe out the door, closing it behind them and staring at her with wide eyes. "Chloe, what's going on? How do you even know him?" He shook his head.

Chloe took a deep breath, suddenly wishing she had waited for the coffee to finish brewing before leaving, she was between a coffee shop, a fresh pot of coffee and yet, she had no caffeine in her hands to get her through this conversation. Letting her breath out slowly, she pulled herself together, "I told you, we met when we were in Star City." Her defenses were building up now, she knew Clark wouldn't approve of how she met Oliver or how quickly things seemed to be going for them.

"And you've known him long enough to be doing _that_ with him?" He shook his head a little.

"The term is _having sex_ , Clark, you're old enough to say it, and yes, I have." She told him, without offering further explanation.

Clark stared at her with disbelief. "What did he do to you, Chloe?"

Her eyes narrowed, "what are you implying, Clark?"

"You're not acting like yourself. Did he do something to you?" He stepped closer to her.

"What do you mean I'm not acting like myself?" She asked, frowning, "I'm _happy_ , Clark, something I haven't been in a long time, maybe that's the difference you're noticing."

"You're having sex with a total stranger!" His voice rose just a little and then he quickly looked around to make sure no one had heard him.

"He is _not_ " her voice rose too, but she caught herself and lowered it, "he is not a total stranger, Clark, I know his biggest secret and he knows mine!"

He rubbed a hand over his face. "I just think you should stop and consider what you're doing. And ask yourself _why_ you're doing it. Because it doesn't make any sense, Chlo." His voice was quiet.

She took a deep breath, "I appreciate your concern, Clark, but right now, this feels like the best choice I could make," and although she knew he had a point and this wasn't making any sense, she didn't want to tell him that, "if things go wrong, then this is my mistake to make."

Inside, Oliver leaned heavily against the wall, rubbing a hand over his face. He had no idea what was going on or why he felt such a connection to her. But they needed to find out why, somehow.

He just had no idea how.

A moment later, Chloe made her way back inside the apartment, taking a deep breath and glancing at Oliver when she saw him, "are you okay?"

He nodded wordlessly, locking eyes with her.

She looked at him for a long moment and stepped closer, "Sorry."

Oliver took a step closer to her, as well. "Don't be."

Chloe looked at him for a moment then turned back, locking the door before turning to him again.

"Lois was a little more accepting than your friend Clark," he said softly.

She walked up to him and shrugged a little, "Clark tends to be very overprotective."

A small smile tugged at his lips. "I gathered."

"Even when he doesn't have to be." Chloe told him, reaching for his hand.

He slid his fingers through hers and kissed her forehead. "Let's go back to bed," he whispered.

Chloe smiled at that and nodded, tugging on his hand gently as she started back toward her bed, she knew they would have to leave the room eventually, but not yet.


	6. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1226574.html) || [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1230986.html) || [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1234007.html) || [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1237104.html) || [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1239215.html)

_He was running a couple minutes late because he'd stopped to get her flowers. He'd wanted to take her roses, but the little shop on the corner only had tulips in stock. He knocked lightly on her door, waiting. It had been two days since he'd last seen her and he kept dreaming about her. There was something captivating about her eyes that he just couldn't shake from his conscious, or his subconscious for that matter._

_There were footsteps inside the small house and it took her a moment and a deep breath before she opened the door, butterflies in her stomach and a bright smile on her face the second her eyes fell on him, "hi."_

_Her smile was contagious. "Hi," he said softly, holding the tulips out to her. "Sorry I'm late."_

_Her eyes widened a little as she reached for the flowers, unusual, normally she got roses, but the only guy who ever bought her flowers was her big brother anyway, "oh, these are beautiful," she said sincerely, "thank you."_

__

 

_"You're welcome," he said with a smile, meeting her eyes. "You look beautiful." His voice was filled with sincerity. The emerald green dress she wore made her eyes even more captivating._

__

 

_"Thank you," she smiled shyly, "I'll put these in water and then we can go," she told him, looking down at the flowers._

_He nodded, watching her intently as she moved away from the door. He rolled his shoulder a little, wincing as pain made it ache, but suppressing a grimace as he spotted his Sergeant step into view. His eyes widened a little with surprise._

_The man approached him with a raised eyebrow, "Private," he said in a form of greeting._

_"Sergeant," he said, nodding slightly and saluting him._

_"I didn't realize it was one of my men that decided to ask my _sister_ out." He said firmly._

_He paused, then nodded, trying his best not to look intimidated. "I didn't realize she was your sister," he admitted._

_"Now you do." The Sergeant told the younger man, "and I suggest you remember that because if I hear you were less than a perfect gentleman, Private..."_

_He straightened, looking the other man in the eye. "I like your sister a great deal. I wouldn't do anything to compromise her integrity or do anything to disrespect her."_

_"I'll be asking her if she thinks you kept your word--" He was cut off when she appeared back by the door._

_"Okay, I'm ready," she announced brightly._

_The Sergeant looked down at his sister, "I don't want you being back too late." He told her._

_He smiled back at her, offering her his uninjured arm. "I made reservations," he said softly._

__

 

_"I won't be," she told her big brother, smiling up at him before taking her date's arm and nudging him to move away from the door, trying to get away as fast as possible, "you did?"_

_He nodded, leading her out of the house and toward his car. "Is Italian okay? We could always go somewhere else."_

_"I love Italian!" She said brightly, smiling up at him._

_He grinned back at her, opening the car door for her._

_With a grin back at him, she let go of his arm and stepped inside the car, holding on to her skirt as she settled in the front seat, glancing back at the house and waving at her brother once more before the door was closed._

_Once she was safely in the car, he moved to the driver's seat and slid inside, also waving before he started the car. He glanced at her sideways and smiled at her._

_Once they pulled away from the spot he had parked, she glanced over at him, "he wasn't too harsh on you, right?"_

_"Not as harsh as usual," he said, trying to keep his voice light._

_"Well, he didn't scare you away, so I guess that's a good sign," she said with a smile._

_"I'm not that easily frightened," he assured her with a soft smile in return._

_"Good, and you know, if he gives you too hard of a time, tell me and I'll tell his wife, she will get him to stop." She said, smirking._

_Amusement flickered across his features and he glanced at her sideways. "I didn't realize he was married."_

_"To the head nurse, you know, the tall, loud one with the long brown hair?" She told him, shifting on her seat toward him._

_At that he chuckled. "Her. Gotcha." He nodded a little._

_She grinned a little and nodded, "she's the only one who gets to boss the Sergeant around. But don't tell anyone I told you that."_

_"Your secret's safe with me," he promised._

Chloe sighed deeply and shifted on the bed, stretching a little but pausing when she felt a heavy arm around her, a smile spread across her face even in her state of semi-conscious and she hugged his arm closer, knowing it was _him_.

Oliver shifted closer to her, kissing the back of her neck even as her movement caused him to stir from unconsciousness.

She shivered, smiling a little more and opening her eyes slowly.

"Morning," he murmured sleepily.

"Morning," she whispered, lifting his hand to her lips and kissing his knuckles softly.

A soft smile touched his mouth and he gently rubbed his thumb over her lips.

She kissed his thumb too and hugged his arm to her chest before turning her head a little toward him.

Oliver lifted his head to look at her, their eyes meeting instantly. He leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth softly. "This is much better," he said.

"Much better than what?" she asked, her words muffled since her mouth was still against his.

He nuzzled his nose against hers. "Waking up to an empty bed."

"Oh," she smiled and kissed him softly, "I agree."

He smiled and returned the kiss, pulling back enough to gaze at her. "You are so beautiful," he murmured.

Chloe cocked her head a little and smiled, "I was dreaming about you again." She told him quietly, her memories of the dream hazy.

"What'd you dream?" he asked, watching her.

"I don't remember it very well," she said, closing her eyes as she tried to conjure up the images, "I was in a car with you and Clark was there..."

Something tugged at the back of his mind, but he couldn't place it. "Sounds nice except for the Clark part," he teased.

She grinned a little at that, "your car was old, though. Like, old fashioned."

Oliver smiled at her. "Well, sorry to disappoint but I don't have any classic old cars."

"I suppose I can live with that," she teased softly.

His grin widened a little. "Oh, good." He kissed her nose.

She grinned a little too and looked up at him, "oh and you gave me tulips."

Oliver paused at that. "Yellow tulips," he murmured.

Chloe paused too and blinked, "how do you know?"

"They didn't have roses at the corner market," he murmured, feeling dazed.

She frowned hard, "I had never gotten tulips before. They are my favorite."

Oliver stared at her. "We had the same dream."

Shaking her head a little, she raised her eyebrows, "what else do you remember of it?"

He drew in a breath, thinking as he lay his head down on the pillow, his thumb moving lightly over her stomach. "I remember your eyes," he murmured.

"What about them?" She asked in a whisper, watching him closely.

He shifted closer to her. "They were green. Beautiful green."

"Oh. Different than the green they are now?" She asked, cocking her head.

Oliver searched her eyes, shaking his head a little. "The same," he whispered, lifting a hand to her cheek. "Your hair was longer."

"It was," she agreed, frowning, "and with more curls and I had part of it up..."

He nodded slightly, sliding his hand into her hair. "This is weird," he murmured.

"It is..." she agreed, "were you picking me up for something?"

"Our first date," he answered without thinking about it, his eyebrows furrowing.

Chloe gasped quietly, her eyes widening, "Oliver, how is this possible?"

Oliver smoothed his hand down her back, shaking his head a little. "I have no idea."

"What about your other dreams, do you remember any of them?"

He paused, considering. "Not really," he murmured.

She took a deep breath, "I wonder if this is because we slept together. I mean, spent the night together..."

"We did both," he reminded her with a small smile, kissing the corner of her mouth.

Chloe smiled a little, "I'm aware," she told him, "but I mean if we remember it because we fell asleep close to each other."

"Oh." He ducked his head a little, sheepish. "Maybe."

With a deep breath, she frowned slightly, thinking, "I guess we'll have to test that theory."

"By spending the night together again?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," she said still serious, "and talking about our dreams when we wake up to try and remember them."

He slid his hand down her arm, nodding his agreement. "All right."

"Okay," she whispered, leaning closer and sighing softly, "maybe your doctor friend would have some idea?"

"Maybe," he murmured. "This one might be a little out of his area of expertise, though."

Pursing her lips together, she nodded slowly, "well, maybe he can give us some idea about who to contact next?" As weird as it seemed, she wasn't worried about seeing his doctor anymore. Because if Oliver trusted this guy, she had no reason not to.

"Yeah, maybe." He kissed her forehead.

"Aren't you worried?" She whispered, wrapping her arm around him.

Oliver was quiet for a moment. "Logically I know I should be. But no," he said softly. "I'm not. It feels...right."

With a deep breath, she nodded slowly, "it does," she told him quietly, "I just... I want to understand."

"I do, too," he told her. "But I'm not...worried. Maybe I should be worried that I'm not worried."

"Do you think..." she paused, tightening her hold on him, "we're under some kind of spell or something? Because I've seen magic before, and it's real." She admitted quietly.

"Really?" He raised his eyebrows a little.

"Really," she said, taking a deep breath. Not sure if she should go on and tell him about the time she was possessed by a seventeenth century witch or not.

"Sensing a story there."

"Short version?" She said, pursing her lips, "I was possessed by the spirit of a witch on my 18th birthday. Growing up here in Smallville wasn't exactly... normal." And then she paused, cocking her head, "do you even know you're in Smallville and not in Metropolis?"

He blinked a couple of times. "We are?"

Chloe smiled a little and nodded, kissing him softly, "about two hours from the city."

"Because Clark brought me here." He kissed her shoulder.

"Exactly." She whispered, brushing her nose against his cheek.

Oliver closed his eyes for a moment, kissing her jaw lightly, then her throat.

Chloe shivered and closed her eyes, moving closer to him.

He groaned softly as her body pressed against his. He rested his hand against her hip, drawing in a breath and letting it out slowly, kissing her collarbone.

"I love your mouth," she whispered, not even aware she was talking as she rubbed her hand down his back and lifted a leg to wrap it around him.

He smiled at that. "Glad to hear it," he murmured against her skin, kissing his way slowly down the shirt she was wearing.

She shivered, smiling and rubbing her hand up his back, willing him even closer.

He shifted, sliding his body over hers and gazing down at her intently. "Chloe?"

"Yeah?" She said quietly, looking up at him.

Oliver met her eyes, leaning down and brushing his nose against hers as he slid a knee between her legs, his eyes questioning.

She gasped a little, parting her legs further for him and nodding, her eyes darkening as she lifted a hand to cup the back of his neck.

He sighed with relief, kissing her as he sank into her without any hesitation, shuddering a little involuntarily.

She shuddered too at the feel of him inside of her for the first time without protection, he always felt amazing but this time, she could really feel all of him and with a deep breath, she shifted, willing him to move in deeper.

_Crying loudly, she closed her eyes tightly as the wave of pain hit her full force. She knew it was going to hurt, her sister-in-law had told her time and time again what to expect, but there was no way she could have really known until she felt it for herself._

_He stilled immediately, wincing at her cry of pain. He leaned down and kissed each of her eyelids softly. "Sorry, sorry," he whispered._

_With a few deep breaths, she nodded slowly, but kept her eyes closed as she held on tightly to his arms, "move," she whispered shakily._

_"Are you sure?" He kissed the corner of her mouth._

_"Yeah," she took a deep breath and opened her eyes slowly, her vision blurry with tears, "slow."_

_Nodding, he felt his chest tighten at the sight of her tears, but he kept his gaze on hers as he pulled back slowly then slid inside her once more._

_She bit down on her bottom lip hard and closed her eyes again, her hands squeezing the muscles of his arms as tightly as she could, and with a deep breath, she forced herself to relax slowly. She had been looking forward to this since their first date, now she just wanted it to be over with so they could move on to the part where they _both_ would enjoy it._

_He brushed his nose against hers and kissed her softly, pausing long enough to shake one of her hands off his arm and slide his hand down between her legs. He'd only been with a couple of other women before, but he'd never had any complaints. Knowing it was her first time, he wanted it to be as pleasurable as it was painful, and he began to stroke her gently._

_At that, she shivered, opening her eyes and letting her breath out, "oh," she moaned quietly, looking up at him._

_"Better?" he whispered, watching her face._

_"Yes," she breathed, it was still hurting, but this gave her something else to focus on._

_He kept his body in check, biting down hard on his tongue as he continued to stroke her with his thumb, his eyes locked on hers. "I love you," he whispered._

_"I-" she needed another deep breath, "I love you." She told him, finally letting go of his other arm too and reaching to cup his cheek._

_He kissed her once more, slow and deep as he slowly slid out of her and then back in, continuing to brush his thumb over the sensitive bundle of nerves between her legs._

_She managed to relax as much as she thought she was going to be able to and tentatively, she moved her hips against his, her opening as she angled her hips slightly and a shot of pure pleasure ran through her, "oh."_

_He couldn't help but smile at the breathy exclamation that escaped her. He felt her relaxing beneath him and he shifted slightly, as well, dipping his head to kiss her collarbone as she moved against him._

_Shuddering under him, she kept moving her hips in the same angle and with every thrust, it felt better and better, "oh god," she moaned as she moved with him, her muscles starting to cling to him._

_He shut his eyes for a moment as he felt her beginning to tighten around him even more, his jaw tightening as he struggled to keep control. He began to stroke her faster with his fingers, in time with their bodies, each thrust ending deep within her, slow, measured movements. "You feel amazing," he whispered, placing a kiss against one of her breasts._

_Without any kind of warning, she cried out and closed her eyes again, her body shuddering hard, she had never felt anything like that before and although it was still mixed with pain, if felt amazing and in the back of her head she remembered all of her girlfriends telling her how it wouldn't feel good, that was because they didn't have _her_ fiance._

_He watched her with something akin to amazement on his face. He felt his chest tighten, this time with something akin to pride and love mixed together as he reached his hands up to lace his fingers through hers, thrusting into her a couple more times before his own pleasure left him shuddering above her as he uttered her name, lowering his head to rest against her chest._

_She held on to his hand, opening her eyes to watch him closely, intensely and curiously as he finished, after a few deep breaths, she lifted her head and pressed kisses to his forehead and cheek, "I love you," she whispered to him again._

_"I love you, too," he whispered, lifting his head to look at her, breathless._

_With a soft, still breathless smile, she lifted her hand and brushed her thumb against his bottom lip, "thank you." She blushed._

_He smiled at that, kissing her thumb. "Thank _you_." He gazed at her. "Are you okay?"_

_Pursing her lips together, she nodded and grinned a little mischievously, "do you think next time it won't hurt anymore?"_

_He couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Shouldn't," he said softly._

_Nodding, she leaned down and kissed him softly, "the girls said it was going to hurt for a few days, but I don't care."_

_He lifted a hand to cup her cheek, returning the kiss. "I'll make it up to you," he murmured._

_Frowning a little, she shook her head, "you don't have to make anything up to me, I wanted to."_

_He smiled a bit. "I meant for the pain."_

_"Still," her face softened a little and she leaned closer, kissing him once more, "we'll be doing this a lot, right? And it will get better," she said quietly, smiling._

_He smiled back at her, kissing the corner of her mouth. "It'll get better," he promised._

_With a deep breath, she nodded slowly, "I just want to be this close to you all the time."_

_His eyes softened and he rolled them carefully so she was on top of him. He stroked a hand down her spine, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Me too."_

_She grinned softly as he turned them and hugged him to her, pressing her lips to his neck, "I can't wait to marry you."_

_His smile widened at that and he closed his eyes. "Just think. If I hadn't been shot a few months ago, we may never have even met. Now we're getting married."_

_Giggling a little, she shook her head, "I would have married you anyway."_

_"You think so?" He grinned at the sound of her laughter._

_"I know so," she said, raising her eyebrows and lifting a hand to his cheek, "don't you?"_

_He smiled at her, turning his head to kiss the palm of her hand. "I would've found you somehow."_

_"Or maybe I would have found you," she told him, her voice softer as she smiled up at him._

_"Or that." He met her eyes._

_"It would be a waste of life if it didn't have you in it anyway," she said, holding his gaze and smiling._

_His chest tightened at that and he caressed her cheek. "I love you," he murmured._

_"I love you." She repeated, leaning into his touch then nuzzling his palm, but keeping her eyes on him._

Oliver collapsed over her, panting for breath as he dropped his forehead against her collarbone. "God, Chloe," he whispered, shuddering. His expression was dazed as he lifted his head to look at her once more. "What just happened?"

Her eyes were wide and she was blinking rapidly, the ache between her legs was suddenly gone and her head was spinning, "I-- don't know."

"Are you all right?" He looked at her with worry as he felt his head beginning to clear.

"Yeah," she lifted a hand to her face and rubbed her eyes, "it was hurting," she admitted, "as if I had never had sex before, but now the pain is gone."

Oliver carefully slid off her, turning her so her head was resting against his chest, worry still in his eyes.

She sighed at the loss and shivered a little then lifted her head a little more to look at him better, quiet for a moment as she tried to clear her mind, "we need to find help."

He met her eyes, nodding a little. "I know." He exhaled slowly. "I'll call Dr. Hamilton."

With a deep breath, she nodded and shifted, reluctantly moving to lay on the bed, "okay."

"Whatever it is...I'm not leaving you." His voice was quiet and he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

With a deep breath, she nodded a little and kissed his cheek, "I'm not going anywhere either."


	7. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Chloe had driven them back to Metropolis that morning, she had packed a few things with her since she didn't know if they were going to stay in the city for longer than just that day. Oliver had asked his doctor to come into town from Star City and they were going to meet with him as soon as he arrived, which should be in the next half hour or so and if Chloe had to be honest, she was pretty nervous about this. She trusted Oliver, but the fact that she was probably going to be tested on made her nervous despite her blind faith she had in the man next to her.

She drove them straight to the Queen towers and once they arrived and Oliver cleared their entrance with security, she parked at the spot he showed her and shut off the engine, taking a long, deep breath and glancing at him, "should we go upstairs?" She asked quietly.

He turned his head to look at her, sensing her anxiety. He reached out and took her hand, sliding his fingers through hers. "Yeah. Chloe." His voice was soft. "No one's going to hurt you. I swear it."

With a deep breath, she held on to his hand and nodded a little, glancing down at their hands, "I trust you," she whispered then glanced over at him, "I just, I never told this to anyone, you and Clark are the only people who know."

Oliver's expression softened and he shifted closer to her, sliding his arm around her and pulling her close to him, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I won't leave your side. And Emil's a good guy," he murmured.

"Okay," she whispered, looking up at him as she leaned closer, feeling a little better already, she felt better just by being physically close to him and that was just one more thing she didn't understand.

"And if there's anything you feel uncomfortable with, we'll find another way."

"Thank you," she told him, looking up at him for a moment longer then kissing him softly.

He returned the kiss without hesitation. "Come on," he said softly, squeezing her hand.

Nodding, she took a deep breath and reluctantly let go of his hand then pulled the key out of the ignition and grabbed her purse before getting out of the car.

Oliver climbed out of the car as well, looking up at Queen Towers and moving around to her side, offering her his arm.

She looked up too, then over at him, giving him a soft smile before taking his arm and squeezing it gently.

He smiled back at her, leading her up the sidewalk to the door and opening it for her. "My office is on the top floor."

"Figures," she said quietly, smiling at him a little more as they walked into the building, "always works out that way.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing a little.

"All the CEO's offices are always on the top floor," she said, shrugging a little.

Oliver smiled a bit at that. "Well, it did make it easier to start patrol when I stayed late at the office."

"Do you do that a lot?" She asked curiously.

"Patrol? Or stay late at work?" he asked, glancing at her sideways.

"Patrol right out of work," she clarified, "I assume you patrol every night?"

"Generally," he said with a nod.

Chloe nodded, looking around the building until they made their way to the elevator, not surprised that his employees were glancing in her direction curiously, "I'm guessing you don't bring a lot of women here?"

"Never," Oliver admitted, nodding and smiling at his employees.

She grinned a little and pursed her lips together, glancing at him then ahead as they stepped into the elevator.

He couldn't help but grin, as well, pushing the button for the top floor.

Giving his arm a gentle squeeze, she glanced at him, feeling progressively more relaxed, "never thought we'd end up here when I first got into an elevator with you."

Oliver leaned down and kissed her softly. "I know what you mean."

Chloe returned the kiss and hugged his arm a little then smiled softly as they broke apart.

"So this is where I work when I'm in Metropolis." He smiled as the doors slid open and he guided her out of the elevator.

She raised her eyebrows and looked around his office for a moment as they stepped into it, nodding, "this is really nice," she told him, "is it anything like your office in Star City?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty similiar."

"I like the crest," she said, looking at the symbol on the wall, "is this your family crest?"

Oliver watched her as she moved over to it. "Yeah," he said softly.

"It's pretty," she said then grinned a little and glanced at him over her shoulder, "and it has arrows in it, how fitting."

A grin tugged at his lips. "Yeah. Maybe it was fate."

"Maybe it was," she agreed, turning around fully to face him. "I guess this whole fate thing really does exist."

He paused at that, considering her words. "I never really believed in fate," he admitted.

"Neither did I," she told him, watching him closely.

"Now you do." His voice was soft, not really questioning.

"Don't you?" She asked, cocking her head, "it's the only thing that can begin to explain this," she paused, " _us_."

Oliver watched her for a moment. "I believe something brought us together," he said with a slight nod.

"I will feel a lot better when we find out what," she admitted.

"Me too," he said softly.

"And even though I want to figure things out," she told him as she took a step closer, "I'm glad it happened."

He released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. "So am I." He stepped closer to her, as well.

Chloe smiled a little and nodded, looking up at him and reaching for his hand then giving it a light squeeze.

Oliver brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "See the view?" He nodded toward the large picture window, tugging her toward it gently.

She walked with him, linking her fingers through his and raising her eyebrows a little, "wow this is pretty amazing..." she said quietly, her eyes going straight to the Planet.

He followed her gaze and then glanced at her sideways. "Did you say you used to be a journalist?"

Chloe nodded and smiled a little, glancing at him, "yeah, I worked at the Planet for almost two years."

Oliver studied her for a moment. "What happened?"

"Lex Luthor happened," she smirked a little and raised her eyebrows, "again."

His jaw tightened a little at the name. "Right."

"He doesn't like me very much," she told him, shrugging, "which is reciprocal."

"Yeah, well, I don't like _him_ and he's going to have some problems heading his way soon." His eyes grew dark as he looked out the window.

Chloe raised her eyebrows and looked at him, "are you planning something specific?"

Oliver glanced at her sideways again. "Not yet. But soon."

"Well," she looked back out in the direction of the Planet again but this time her eyes fell on the LuthorCorp building next to it, "if you need the address of another 33.1 to blow up, I know of at least one, and I'm sure I could find more."

His eyes narrowed a little. "I wouldn't turn down that information."

She nodded, squeezing his hand a little and glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes, "as long as I can help, I will share everything I ever found on Lex with you."

He relaxed a little as she squeezed his hand. "I want you to meet the others."

"What others?" She asked, cocking her head as she turned to look at him, "the metahumans you know?"

Oliver nodded a little. "The ones I work with on things like stopping Lex and 33.1."

"Who are they?" She asked, looking up at him with interest.

He paused, then gave her an apologetic look. "Chloe, I can't..." He shook his head a little.

"Oh," she nodded, smiling a little, "I understand, I've been keeping Clark's secret for years."

He kissed her temple. "I'm sure they'll want to meet you, though."

"Well, I definitely want to meet them if they are up for it." She said, leaning into him slightly.

Oliver wound his arm around her waist, resting his head against hers, falling silent until a knock on the door sounded. He turned. "Come on in."

Chloe pulled back a little at the knock and stood up straight, looking up at Ollie then at the door as it opened, holding her breath a little.

Dr. Hamilton stepped into the office, pausing momentarily at the sight of Chloe. "Oliver," he said uncertainly.

Oliver nodded back at him, offering him a smile. "Dr. Hamilton, thanks for coming."

Chloe looked over at Dr. Hamilton, looking as uncertain as he did.

He glanced down at Chloe. "Chloe, this is Dr. Emil Hamilton, from my team. Emil, this is Chloe Sullivan. My..." He paused, searching for a word and realizing he didn't have one.

She glanced at Oliver, pursing her lips together, she had no idea how to finish that sentence either, so she extended her hand to the man, "thank you for coming."

"Of course." He shook her hand without hesitation. "What can I do for you?"

 

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "This is kind of hard to explain. We should sit down."

Chloe followed Oliver to the loveseat and watched as the doctor took the seat across from theirs. She pursed her lips together a little and glanced at Oliver, not knowing how to begin.

Emil looked at the two of them for a moment, then sat back, giving them space to find the words.

Oliver looked between them and then settled his gaze on Emil. "We have some kind of...connection," he said after a moment.

Emil considered him for a moment then cocked his head slightly, "connection?"

"We had the same dream," he said quietly, glancing at her sideways.

Chloe looked back at Oliver for a second then at the Doctor, "down to the details." She added.

Frowning slightly, Emil nodded, thinking for a minute, "did this happen more than once?"

He hesitated. "We've been dreaming about each other since we first met a few months ago."

"Have you been in contact with one another during this time?" He asked.

Chloe shook her head, "we didn't talk at all until yesterday after the first and only time we met."

Oliver rubbed his thumb over the back of Chloe's hand absently. "Any theories?"

Emil was quiet for a moment then pushed his glasses up his nose and looked between the two of them, "I don't have a lot of experience in neurology, but I have read about cases of survivors of a traumatic event such as surviving a plane crash together, noticing a strong bond between them, has anything like that happened?"

He paused, shaking his head and glancing at Chloe, then back at Emil. "Nothing that we've both experienced together, no."

He nodded once more, a thoughtful expression on his face even as he spoke, "what was the dream about?" He asked, then added, "be as detailed as you're comfortable with."

Oliver shifted a little. "Our first date," he said quietly. "I brought her yellow tulips and took her for Italian."

"But we looked different," she glanced at Oliver again, squeezing his hand a little, "younger, I think."

"And the dream, you saw both of you, or did you only see the other?" He asked.

He considered for a moment. "I only saw Chloe, not myself."

"Yeah," she agreed, "I only saw him too and we both saw my best friend, Clark."

Emil frowned a little and nodded, "and you have met Clark?" He asked Oliver.

He grimaced a little. "Yeah. I met him."

"Was this dream anything like something that happened in reality?"

"No. We've never been on a date and...I was never in the military," Oliver informed Emil. "In the dream I was."

Chloe nodded, "and we had never been in a car together until we drove here this morning and in the dream, we were in Oliver's car, although it looked like a classic car, maybe from the forties or fifties."

"I see..." Emil took a deep breath, "like I said, I'm no expert in how the brain works but there is a theory that dreams where you are seeing things through your eyes are usually based on memories and dreams in which you see yourself from an outsider's point of view come from our subconscious imagination. This theory doesn't seem to apply in this case."

Oliver was quiet for a moment. "Do you happen to know anyone who might have expertise in this area?"

"No one personally," he admitted, "but I can talk to a few colleagues and see if I can get names for you."

"Wait," Chloe said, shaking her head, "we don't want to involve outside people."

"No. Not with this situation," he agreed.

Chloe nodded, squeezing his hand a little.

Emil frowned slightly, but just nodded, "I can do some research and see what I can find, maybe monitor your sleep to see if your brainwaves are similar."

"I think that would be a good starting place," Oliver said quietly, nodding and squeezing Chloe's hand in return.

"Whenever the two of you are available, I'm sure your local labs will have all the equipment I need."

He nodded ever so slightly once more, meeting Emil's eyes for a moment and then glancing at Chloe.

Chloe looked back at Oliver and shrugged a little, "we can do it tonight if that will work for everyone."

Oliver drew in a breath. "Tonight works for me. Emil?"

"Absolutely," he nodded, "I will start preparing, unless there is something else you'd like to discuss."

He shook his head a little. "No, I don't have anything else."

Chloe looked down for a moment then looked at the doctor, "nothing pressing." She told him, at least this way, she had the chance to get to know the man better before she had to tell him about her ability.

Oliver squeezed her hand once more. "If you want to set everything up and call me, that'd be great," he told Emil.

"I will do that," he told Oliver, nodded a little before standing up, "I will see you in a few hours."

"Thanks, Emil."

"Anytime," he said, nodding politely at the two of them before making his way out of the office.

Oliver watched him go then turned his head to look at Chloe.

Chloe let out a breath and looked over at him, searching his eyes, "I don't suppose any of your metahuman friends have mind reading as an ability?"

He smiled sadly and shook his head. "Afraid not."

She nodded and looked down, "I think we will have to see what he comes up with."

He shifted closer to her on the small loveseat and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Whatever it is...we'll be all right."

"I know," she whispered, shifting closer to him too and lifting her head to press a kiss to his cheek, she could hardly believe that she had only seen him once before they ran into each other again about thirty-six hours ago. He felt so familiar, so comforting already. Like she'd known him her whole life. He felt like _home_.

Oliver rested his chin atop her head, closing his eyes as he held her close. "What would you say to dinner tonight?" he asked softly.

Closing her own eyes, she nodded a little, not moving much not to disturb him, she smiled just a little, "maybe we should have Italian."

He smiled at that, too. "I do know a couple great Italian places in Metropolis."

"So do I," she told him, wrapping her arm around him and holding on to his shirt, "which one is your favorite?"

He considered that for a moment. "I really like Pastabilities."

Chloe shook her head a little and turned her head up to look at him, "no, you have to go to Mandola's I've been going there since before I could walk, have you even been?"

He shook his head. "No, but if that's where you want to go, that's where we'll go," he told her with a soft smile, meeting her eyes.

She smiled shyly and nodded, "it's not nearly as fancy as Pastabilities, but if you don't mind that, I think you will like it."

"I don't mind," he assured her. "Fancy's pretty overrated."

With a deep breath, she nodded a little, "I'll have to call Lois and let her know she can go home tonight."

An amused smile tugged at his mouth. "Good idea."

Chloe blushed a little and grinned softly then shook her head "and possibly buy her presents."

He chuckled. "Just tell me what kind of stuff she likes and I'll happily buy them."

"It doesn't take much..." she told him, "coffee, maple donuts."

Oliver smirked, nodding and rising to his feet. "Easy."

She looked up at him, "where are you going?"

"To call for a special delivery." He winked at her as he moved over to his desk.

"Oh, Oliver," she shook her head, moving to stand up and raised her eyebrows, "you don't have to, I was joking."

He chuckled. "Chloe, it's not a big deal. It's not like I can't afford it."

"You don't have to," she repeated, "regardless of what is going on with us, you barely even know her."

He paused, watching her. "I know. But considering she didn't seem to hate me on sight unlike Clark..."

"Don't worry about Clark, it's hard for him to trust new people, because of his secret, he always tries to keep people at arm's length and especially a new person who found out about his real identity right away, he's just freaked out."

"He told me his identity."

"I know," Chloe said quietly, watching him, "just give him some time."

Oliver sighed softly and nodded. "So really? No imported Brazillian coffee?"

She smiled softly and shook her head, "no, maybe on her birthday," she told him, "but I appreciate the thought."

"What about you?" he asked curiously.

"What about me?" She asked, frowning a little.

He smiled. "When's your birthday?"

"November tenth," she told him, smiling softly, "what about yours?"

"October twenty-third," he answered, returning her smile.

"Oh, just a couple weeks apart," she said, raising her eyebrows.

Oliver nodded a little, his eyes locking with hers.

She raised her eyebrows slightly and held his gaze, trying to read what he was thinking.

"I want to know you," he murmured.

Her expression softened and she nodded slowly, "Ask me anything you want to know," she said quietly.

"That's the problem. I have so many things I want to know, I don't know where to start," he admitted..

With a deep breath, she nodded a little and held her hand out, "how about we sit down and I will tell you everything I can think of and you can ask questions as we go."

Oliver reached out and took her hand, weaving his fingers through hers. "I think that sounds good."


	8. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1226574.html) || [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1230986.html) || [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1234007.html) || [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1237104.html) || [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1239215.html) || [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1242001.html) || [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1243995.html)

 

After spending hours talking to Oliver and telling him as much as she could about herself, where she grew up, about her dad, about the weirdness that was her experience at Smallville High, about Lois, Clark and Pete and even some about her mom. And then, before she had the chance to call Lois and let her know she could have the apartment that night, her phone rang and her cousin demanded to meet her for coffee.

Since Oliver had to do some work anyway and they still had a while before their dinner date, Chloe agreed, it was hard to willingly, physically move away from him, but she knew that eventually, at some point, they wouldn't be able to be close to one another, so she forced herself to do it. Might as well start now.

So she walked out of the Queen towers and in the direction of the cafe in the corner of the Daily Planet. Once she got close, she pulled her phone from her pocket, since she had decided to leave her purse in Ollie's office and just bring her cash and phone, and started to text her cousin to tell her she was downstairs.

But she didn't manage to finish the text, next thing she knew, she felt a prickle on her neck, her entire body instantly went numb as her phone slid out of her hand and on to the sidewalk just as everything went black.

* * *

Oliver had been staring at the clock on his office wall for nearly an hour.

She was late.

And everything in him told him that Chloe wasn't someone who made it a habit to be late. He rose to his feet, beginning to pace the length of the floor. He glanced at his phone, moving to pick it up when there was suddenly a loud knock on his door. He breathed out a sigh, moving to open it. "Oh, good. I was starting to get--" he began, opening the door and pausing when instead of Chloe, he found Lois Lane there. "You're...not Chloe."

"I can't find her!" Lois blurted out, her eyes wide and her fingers tight around the orange smartphone, "I got caught up with work and didn't realize she was _two_ hours late and then I figured she had gotten caught up with _you_ so I tried calling her, when she didn't answer, I went downstairs to check on the cafe and she wasn't there either and then I found this!" She said, raising the phone, "in the middle of the sidewalk!"

He sucked in a breath, his chest tightening at the sight of Chloe's cell phone. "She was supposed to be _here_ an hour ago and I haven't heard from her either."

"Something's wrong." She said, her eyes wide, "we have to find her!"

 

He rubbed the back of his neck, dread creeping over him. "Lex," he muttered, his jaw tightening.

"What? What about him?"

"What do you know about Lex Luthor?" he asked her tensely.

"That he's an asshole who signs my paycheck," Lois told him, "why would he want anything to do with Chloe? He already fired her."

His jaw tightened even more and he moved past her, shutting the door to his office. "Can I trust you?"

Her eyes widened even more than narrowed, "I haven't told anyone about your leather fetish, have I? And you _better_ spill if you know what's good for you, this is my cousin!"

"How are you with research?" he asked, moving to his computer and typing something in quickly.

"I'm a reporter," she said with a roll of her eyes then shrugged, walking over to his computer too, "not as good as Chloe." She admitted.

Oliver drew in a breath. "I need you to try and figure out where any and all real estate that Lex Luthor has within a one hundred mile radius of here," he told her.

She pushed him out of the way as she pulled his chair back and sat down on it, "while I do that, you explain to me what Lex wants with my cousin."

He hesitated only a moment. "I'm assuming you know a little about people from Smallville who are meteor-infected and have special abilities?"

"Yeah, of course I know about them, some of them tried to kill me before," she told him, not taking her eyes from the screen as she typed.

Oliver only hoped Chloe wouldn't be upset that he was letting her cousin in on her secret. "Chloe's infected, too." His voice grew quiet.

" _What_?" Lois demanded, turning the chair around so fast, it almost turned back to face the computer again.

"Lex Luthor has an obsession with people who have abilities." His jaw tightened again. "And he knows about Chloe's meteor infection."

"How do _you_ know about it?"

"Because she told me," he said quietly.

"She told _you_ and she didn't tell _me_? Why would she do that?"

"She was scared, Lois." Oliver gazed at her. "She's still scared."

Lois considered him for a moment then turned around again and focused on the computer, "and you think he's what? Using her as his lab rat?"

His stomach tightened at her words. "Yes," he admitted.

She hunched forward and started clicking faster on the mouse, "then we gotta find her."

"I gotta make a couple phone calls while you work on that. I'll be back." He headed out his office door.

Lois didn't even look up as he walked out. If the bald bastard hurt her cousin at all, she would personally rip his shiny head off.

* * *

_She laughed softly and shook her head, her ponytail singing from side to side as she took his hand, "maybe, if you're good, I will see you after my shift."_

_"I'm always good," he teased, leaning in and kissing her cheek, then looking up as one of the privates from his battalion approached._

_The other man barely glanced at him, instead focusing on her. "Hi." He smiled._

_Blinking and blushing she quickly let go of her fiance's hand and looked up at the other man, "do you need something?" She asked politely, smiling awkwardly up at the bald man._

_His smile widened. "Yes, actually. I'd like a moment of your time, if you don't mind." He paused, his gaze flickering to the other man. "Alone."_

_Pursing her lips together a little, she tried for a smile as she looked at her fiance, "I'll see you tonight," she promised him. It wasn't unusual for privates to want to discuss things alone with the nurses so she couldn't turn him down, but something about this particular man didn't feel right, still, she had to do her job, "what can I help you with?" She asked as they stepped away._

_He offered her his arm. "Something important," he assured her, guiding her away from the other man's sight._

_She glanced over her shoulder but took his arm politely went with him in silence, her stomach tightening._

_"I wanted to ask you something," he told her once they were alone, turning to look at her. "I'd like to have dinner with you. Maybe Friday night," he suggested._

_"Oh," she raised her eyebrows a little and shook her head, "I don't think that would be appropriate."_

_His eyebrows furrowed. It was a rare occasion that a woman ever turned _him_ down for a date. "Why not?"_

_Shyly, she raised her hand to show him the ring on her finger, the stone was small, but she didn't care, "I'm engaged to your colleague."_

_He paused, gazing at the ring for a moment. "I see." He was quiet for a few seconds, then, "Your brother actually encouraged me to talk to you, and ask you out. I guess he wants you to explore all the options before you make such a life-altering decision."_

_Her face fell and she looked down, turning the ring on her finger, "that's because he doesn't agree with my choices," with a deep breath, she looked up at the private once more, a flicker of defiance on her features, "but this is the one time the sergeant can't tell me what to do with my life."_

_"Would it really be such a great harm to explore other possibilities?" he asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"I'm in love with my fiance," she said, her voice firm, "I'm sorry but I'm not interested in exploring other possibilities."_

_He smiled and then stepped closer to her, dipping his head and kissing her before she could protest any further._

_Her stomach turned and she pushed him away, her eyes wide as she wiped her mouth and stepped back, she opened her mouth to say something but she just turned around and rushed away instead._

_He watched her go, a smirk on his face._

Chloe woke up slowly, her head was pounding and there was a dull pain in the center of her stomach, almost felt like it was inside her belly button. Instinctively, she reached up and wiped her mouth then shuddered a little in disgust, not completely conscious yet. She opened her eyes and rubbed her hands over her face, waking up a little more as she instantly felt like something wasn't right.

She looked around and realized she was in her bed, but Oliver was nowhere to be found. Her stomach tightened and she looked around the empty apartment, "Oliver?" She called and a memory instantly hit her. The last thing she remembered was going to meet Lois. And then something had gone wrong.

Feeling around her pants pockets for her phone, she shook her head when she couldn't find it, but she did find the cash she had put there before leaving to meet Lois which meant she wasn't imagining things.

Quickly, she pushed herself off of the bed and the dull pain in her stomach intensified a little and that triggered another memory, a memory that made her knees weaken and her stomach drop. The last time she had felt a pain like this was when Lex had her abducted and she could hear roosters in the distance which told her it was early morning. She'd been in Metropolis, she was supposed to have spent the night in the lab with Oliver, getting a reading of their brainwaves while they slept.

Instinctively, she reached up and covered her right shoulder with her hand, it wasn't hurting, which was good, but she still had to make sure. Without a second thought, she rushed for the phone and dialed Clark's number, she had to get him to x-ray her.

* * *

Still dressed in his Green Arrow uniform, Oliver Queen paced the floor of his clocktower apartment, his jaw tight with anger. He'd called in the rest of the team, who'd arrived within less than two hours thanks to Bart's fast feet. They'd raided the nearest 33.1, evacuating all the prisoners from it and getting them to safety and blowing the place up after.

But there'd been no sign of Chloe.

No one had heard from her, and Lois hadn't been able to get a hold of Clark to ask if he'd seen her.

Now, as he paced, anger growing within him, he turned to look at Bart. "I'm going to to the Luthor mansion."

"I told you, he's not there, man." Bart said, shaking his head, "I can go look again if you want me to, but I've checked." He told Oliver, pausing then the elevator buzzer went off, the entire team was there already and so was this Chloe girl's cousin, he had no idea who it could be.

Oliver looked at the monitor, his eyes widening. "Chloe," he whispered, quickly buzzing her and Clark in.

Chloe nodded at Clark and watched as he sped away then stepped into the elevator, holding her breath and looking up in the direction of the camera.

Bart moved to stand next to Oliver, " _that_ is Chloe?" He asked, instantly recognizing the blond.

Oliver glanced at Bart, his eyebrows furrowing. "Yeah. You know her?"

"Yeah, of course I know her, she's friends with Clark!" He said, then frowned, "you're _dating_ her?"

He paused, casting a glance at Lois and then looking back at Bart. "Something like that," he murmured, moving toward the elevator as it stopped. He held his breath, his eyes filled with anxiety.

Chloe pushed the gate open and held her breath when she looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat, she had wanted to call him, but without her phone, she didn't have his number, so as soon as Clark x-rayed her and made sure she didn't have any kind of tracking device in her, she asked him to run straight to Oliver's office, where she'd last seen him.

So he wasn't there, she remembered him pointint out the Clocktower on their way into town and asked Clark to take her there instead, but when Clark heard Lois' voice upstairs, he decided to leave, afraid that she might figure out his secret if he went in with her.

"Chloe," he whispered, moving to her and winding his arms around her tightly. He kissed her temple, shutting his eyes for a moment.

She wrapped her arms around him just as tightly and closed her eyes, holding her breath, she hadn't even noticed that there were other people in the room, all she had seen was him.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, pulling back to look at her after a moment, his eyes searching hers.

"I'm okay," she whispered, lifting her hand to his cheek as she held his gaze, "but... Lex." She said quietly.

AC stepped forward. "We know. Ollie figured it out." He gazed at her.

Chloe blinked, turning her head to look at the source of the voice, her eyes widening as she recognized the man, "Arthur?" She asked, "what are you doing here?"

He smiled faintly. "I work with Ollie."

"And so do I." Victor stepped forward and smiled faintly, too, nodding at her. "Good to see you again."

She turned her head in the other direction, "Victor?" And as she did, she saw the youngest of the group, "and _Bart_?"

"That'd be me," he saluted her, "didn't know you knew the green bean."

Oliver followed her gaze, raising his eyebrows. "So...this is the team," he said wryly.

Lois finally moved forward and hugged Chloe tightly. "Thank God."

Chloe gasped, not noticing her cousin, even though she'd known she'd be there, until she was being pulled into a tight hug. She hugged Lois back, "I'm okay," she assured her.

"Are you sure?" Lois demanded, pulling away from her. "What did that bastard do to you?"

"I'm not sure," Chloe looked around and took a deep breath before looking up at Lois, "I woke up at home, in my bed and last thing I remember is walking up to the cafe."

Oliver's jaw tightened a little. "He dies." His voice was hard as he headed for the elevator.

Chloe's eyes widened and she turned around, instinctively reaching for Oliver's arm and holding on to it, "Oliver, wait."

He paused, turning to look at her. "What he's doing is an abomination," he said quietly, his voice tense. "Experimenting on people and doing God only knows what. It ends. Now."

She held his gaze and stepped closer, tightening her hold on his arm, "this is Lex Luthor you're talking about, you can't just kill him, you'll never get away with it and even if you do, it won't change _anything_ , Oliver! He has scientists and doctors and god knows what other kind of staff working on this with him, you can't just _kill_ all of them, we need a better plan than this."

Oliver stared at her for a long moment, forcing himself to take a deep breath and let it out slowly, knowing she was right. His jaw tightened. "Then what do we do?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"I don't know," she admitted, one more thing she didn't have answers to, "but we need a plan."

"We need to destroy more of his stupid labs," Bart told him, crossing his arms across his chest.

"That's just cutting off the limbs of the monster," Oliver murmured, looking away, out the window, his jaw tensing. "We need to bring down the monster himself."

"Um. Hello? Reporter in the room," Lois spoke up, raising her eyebrows. "Get me the story with evidence and we can take them all down at once."

"Lex owns the Planet. Your story would just end up getting you killed," Oliver informed her.

Chloe cocked her head and frowned a little, looking from Lois to Oliver, "don't you own the Star City Tribune?"

He looked back at her, meeting her eyes. "Actually, I do."

"It has a much smaller circulation than the Planet," she said, still holding his gaze, "but I'm sure the story will get enough attention and other people will want to buy it, besides, it will cause more people to look into him," she turned to Lois "it's a good start."

"I agree," Lois said, nodding quickly.

Oliver looked between them. "Any reporter who writes this story is going to be in constant, life-threatening danger," he said grimly. "It may make people look into the situation more, but it doesn't mean he'll be prosecuted."

"You're right," Chloe agreed, "but exposing this is just the beginning, I have a lot of material on Lex from over the years and if we get enough information out there, the government won't be able to just take his money and pretend it never happened anymore and we will still be destroying his facilities, it might not be a permanent solution but like it or not, he will have to lay low for a while."

Chloe looked at Lois again, "and Oliver is right about the person who writes the story being in danger, you won't be writing it, Lois."

"Then who's going to write it?" Victor asked uncertainly. "We can't just involve someone who has no idea what kind of risk is involved. That wouldn't be right."

Oliver's jaw tightened and he shook his head slightly as he met Chloe's eyes, already knowing what she was thinking. "It's too dangerous, Chloe."

"He's already after me, Oliver," she told him, holding his gaze firmly, "I'm not putting someone else in danger, especially not my cousin, and Lex fired me from the Planet, it will just make it more believable. He fired me because I knew too much."

"He'll be after you even more once this goes to print," he said intently, staring at her. "And there's no guarantee he won't go after anyone you care about to get to you before he comes after you personally."

"I'll still be his focus, not Lois," she told him, her voice firm, "and you guys can protect me."

Oliver blew out a breath. He hadn't known Chloe very long, but something told him that once she made her mind up, there was no changing it. "We can find another way," he tried.

"This _is_ the other way, Oliver," she told him, holding his gaze.

Lois looked between them, raising her eyebrows at the intensity that seemed to be passing from Chloe to Oliver and back again. _Hello Sexual Tension_ , she thought distantly, folding her arms across her chest.

Oliver stared at her for another moment. "You may not be able to be without protection around the clock," he warned.

"Lex's reach isn't as strong in Star City as it is in Metropolis," she reminded him.

"It's still there," he said quietly.

"We'll be careful," she told him, lowering her voice too.

Bart, who has been unable to stop staring at the interaction between the two, finally looked away, glanced at AC and Victor and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

AC raised his eyebrows too, feeling confused about why Oliver and Chloe seemed to have such a strong connection between them when they'd only met like two times. He glanced at Bart and shrugged a little.

Oliver held her gaze, feeling his chest tighten. "We'll take every precaution."

"I know," she told him, still searching his eyes, "and we'll be okay."

He stepped closer to her, resting a hand on her arm. "He's not getting his hands on you again."

"I'll stay safe, Oliver," she promised quietly, lifting her hand to take his free one, "we'll be careful."

Without really thinking about it, he dipped his head and kissed her softly on the mouth, his eyes drifting shut as he momentarily forgot the fact that they weren't exactly alone in the room.

Chloe squeezed his hand tightly and closed her eyes too, returning the kiss immediately, also forgetting about their audience until someone cleared their throat awkwardly.

Oliver pulled away from her, blinking a couple of times and turning to look at Bart, whose eyebrows had shot up. "Right. Sorry." He shrugged a little, not really sounding or feeling very sorry.

She took a deep breath and looked around, avoiding looking directly at her cousin, mostly because she was afraid Lois would do something embarrassing like give her a thumbs up, "what happened while I was gone?"

He squeezed her hand lightly and glanced at AC before looking back at her. "Lois helped us locate all of the Luthor Corp properties around here. We raided one of the 33.1's," he admitted quietly.

Her eyes widened and she looked at the three guys, then at Oliver then focused on her cousin, surprised before turning to Oliver again, "you did?"

"Blew that one to pieces too," Bart said proudly, "had about fifty people in there but we got them out."

Lois raised her eyebrows. "You have very interesting friends, Cuz," she informed her with a smirk.

"Oliver has very interesting friends," Chloe corrected her, raising her eyebrows, "I hadn't seen these guys in over a year at least."

"What does that mean we're not friends anymore?" Bart said, holding his chest, "I gave you your favorite flowers."

"Bet you had to ask what kind they were," Oliver said without thinking about it.

"How else would I know?" Bart asked, frowning.

He paused at that, looking back at Chloe silently. "I don't know."

Chloe smiled softly at him and squeezed his hand, which she hadn't let go of, "I'm sorry I worried you guys," she said quietly.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Oliver shifted closer to her, lifting a hand to her cheek. "Maybe I should call Dr. Hamilton."

"I'm okay," she assured him, "I had Clark check to make sure he didn't implant anything," she told him.

At that, Lois raised her eyebrows once more. "Since when is Smallville a doctor?" she asked dubiously, then paused, her eyes widening. "Wait a minute! Is he some kind of superhero, too?" She took a step toward Chloe.

Chloe stilled and stared at Oliver for a moment longer, she hadn't even noticed her slip until Lois asked and now she had no way out of it without lying, "we can have Dr. Hamilton check on me." she tried, still looking at Oliver.

"He is, isn't he?" Lois interrupted, shaking her head. "Oh my God. How did I not figure this out? I _lived_ with the guy for months!"

Oliver drew in a breath and kissed Chloe's forehead before turning to look at her. "Lois, he's not exactly out of the superhero closet yet."

Sighing deeply, Chloe closed her eyes for a second then looked at Lois, "you met plenty of superheroes already just... forget about Clark, okay? He's going to freak out if you know."

Lois stared at her. "Why? Why will he freak out if _I_ know?" She shook her head, something between confusion and hurt in her eyes.

Chloe reluctantly let go of Oliver's hand and stepped closer to her cousin, "because he's not comfortable with anyone knowing and he thinks if people find out, they will be in even more danger." She paused and shrugged a little, "and he's not wrong."

Lois held her gaze for a moment and then looked away, her shoulders slumping for the briefest of moments before she lifted her chin. "I won't say a word."

She lifted a hand to Lois' shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze, "thank you, I know it's hard, I found out about Clark months before he told me, but he has to be ready to tell you."

She nodded a little. "Right. I'm just not nearly as patient as you are." She sighed.

Oliver glanced at the other guys, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "Why don't you guys hit the kitchen, and the showers and get some rest," he suggested softly.

"Yeah but when it's driving you crazy, you can talk about it with me," she offered Lois, smiling softly.

At the mention of food, Bart raised his eyebrows, "is there pizza?"

"Guess we'll be talking soon," she said with a small smile in return.

"Isn't there always?" Oliver arched an eyebrow.

" _Awesome_ " Bart said, disappearing into the kitchen.

Victor shook his head and smiled a little, "better follow or there won't be any left," he said then turned to Chloe, "good to see you again," he told her, then smiled at Lois, "and good to meet you." He added with a nod before going to the kitchen.

Chloe squeezed Lois' shoulder gently then smiled at Victor, "good to see you again too."

AC nodded at them both, his gaze lingering on Lois for a moment before he followed the others into the kitchen, leaving Chloe and Lois alone with Oliver.

Chloe watched as they all left then looked between Lois and Oliver, "I'm guessing neither one of you got much sleep?"

"Used to it," Oliver said softly.

Lois blew out a breath, yawning. "Not so much."

"Why don't you go get some rest, Lo?" She said quietly, a worried frown on her face, "we can ask Bart to give you a ride back if you don't feel like driving, I doubt he will mind."

"Yeah, that sounds good," she agreed, nodding and hesitating before hugging her once more. "Please stay safe." Her voice was almost inaudible.

Chloe hugged Lois back tightly and nodded, turning her head and pressing a kiss to her temple, "I will be, just get some rest."

Lois kissed her cheek, then pulled away. "Impulse!" she barked.

Wincing, Chloe rubbed her ear a little and watched as her cousin disappeared into the kitchen, she could only imagine that Impulse was Bart's codename and come to think of it, it made sense. With a deep breath, she turned to Oliver, "you need to rest too," she told him, her voice a lot quieter this time.

"So do you." He reached out and took her hand, sliding his fingers through hers.

She held on to his hand tightly and nodded, "I had another dream," she whispered, biting down on her bottom lip.

Oliver stepped closer to her, a worried expression on his face. "Come on," he whispered, kissing her forehead and gently leading her down the hall to his bedroom.

Chloe held on to his hand and let him pull her down the hall, glancing into the kitchen and catching a glimpse of Lois eating pizza with the boys, she smiled a little then followed Oliver in silence.

He led her into his room and then shut the door and locked it behind them. He let go of her hand, lifting both hands to her face and kissing her softly.

Her heart skipped a beat and she kissed him instantly, lifting her hands to his arms and squeezing them gently.

After a moment, Oliver pulled away, gazing at her with worried eyes and reaching down to pull her shirt off wordlessly.

She blinked and raised her eyebrows, surprised, but lifted her arms for him without questioning.

His eyes were intense as he let the shirt fall to the floor, his gaze sweeping over her. "Are you hurt anywhere?" he murmured.

_Oh_. Chloe took a deep breath and shook her head, "my stomach was aching when I got up, but it's not anymore." Her face softened a little, "and even if they cut into me or anything, I would have healed myself by now."

"Are you sure about that?" he murmured, kneeling down in front of her and examining her skin, his fingers gentle where he touched her.

"I'm sure," she told him quietly, lifting her hand to his head and brushing her fingers through his hair, "I looked."

Oliver closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to her stomach, resting his head against her for a moment.

She lifted her other hand to cup his cheek and brushed her thumb over his jaw soothingly, "I'm sorry you were freaked out."

He nodded a little, looking up at her silently for a moment. "I'm sorry I didn't get there in time," he whispered.

"There was no way you could have known," she told him quietly, moving her thumb over his cheek, "please don't blame yourself."

Oliver turned his head and pressed a kiss to the palm of her hand, then slowly rose to his feet once more, sliding his arms around her.

Chloe wrapped her arms around him and stepped closer, looking up at him.

"Let's get some rest," he whispered, rubbing her back gently.

"Okay," she whispered back, leaning into him and relaxing a little.

He kissed her temple, then pulled away from her, unzipping his leather vest. "Make yourself comfy," he said softly, nodding toward the bed. "You're welcome to borrow a shirt to sleep in if you want."

"Oh, right... my things are still in my car," she said then nodded, glancing towards the closet, "where can I find one?"

He smiled and nodded toward the closet. "Anything in there or the dresser. Whatever you want."

She stepped into it and looked around for a moment, she knew she should be feeling a lot more self-conscious about this, walking around half naked in his bedroom, but it felt, like everything else with him, natural. She picked up a comfortable looking t-shirt from a hanger and held it out to show it to him, "can I wear this one?"

Oliver turned to look at her, nodding immediately. "Yeah, that's fine," he assured her.

Nodding, she smiled a little at him then walked over to where her top was on the floor, picking it up and placing it on top of his dresser, then taking off her bra and wearing his t-shirt, she took a deep breath and smiled a little more, it smelled like him.

He watched her intently, unable to take his eyes off her. "Looks better on you than it does on me."

"It's very comfortable," she told him, tugging at the hem a little bit before reaching down and taking off her shoes and pants.

He undid his leather pants, then picked them up, folded them and set them with hers on top of his dresser. He moved over to her side, sliding his arms around her and kissing her cheek.

Chloe leaned into him and lifted her head, for him, holding on to his arm and hugging it to her.

"Come on," he murmured, keeping his arms around her and leading her toward the bed.

She walked with him, only letting go to pull the covers down, "do you have a side?" She asked quietly, looking up at him.

He smiled at the question. "I usually sleep in the middle," he admitted. "So you can pick."

"I do too," she told him, shrugging then smiling softly and sitting down on the left side of the bed, "doesn't really matter either way."

"Somehow I have a feeling that we'll both end up on the same side anyway." He gazed at her.

"Or we will both end up in the middle," she said quietly, holding her hand up to him.

"Or that." He smiled, taking her hand and sitting down beside her.

She linked her fingers through his and looked down at their hands then took a deep breath, "think we'll have another dream this time?"

"I don't know," he admitted, gazing at her. "Do you think we will?"

"I don't know," she said quietly, glancing at the pillows, "I guess we'll find out."

Oliver dipped his head and kissed her softly, brushing his nose against hers. "Let's get some rest."

After returning the kiss, she nodded a little and moved to lay down, pulling him with her gently, "let's get some rest."

He laid down beside her, instantly wrapping his arm around her waist.

Chloe turned to face him and wrapped her arm around his waist too, looking up at him then leaning closer and kissing him softly, "rest," she whispered.

He smiled faintly, laying his head on her pillow and letting his eyes close. "You too," he murmured.


	9. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

_She chewed down on her bottom lip and she leaned against the wall outside the base, looking around nervously and checking her wrist watch as she waited for him, hoping he wasn't being held back because her brother was questioning him again._

_He made his way out of the base and rounded the corner, blinking with surprise when he spotted her there. He smiled until he saw the worried look on her face. "Hey. What is it?"_

_With a deep breath, she reached out for his hand and pursed her lips together, "let's go for a walk."_

_He could tell by the tone of her voice that something wasn't right, but he took her hand, frowning. "Sure."_

_She remained quiet until they were far enough from the base, making their way to the beach, there were plenty of couples around, watching the sunset, but it was empty enough that they could talk without being heard, "okay," she said quietly once they reached the sand, "you have to promise you won't do anything... bad."_

_His eyebrows furrowed at that. "Okay..."_

_"Promise?" She said, raising her eyebrows._

_"Cross my heart. What's going on?" He shifted closer to her, searching her eyes._

_She looked at him for a moment then took a deep breath, "earlier, that private, the bald one?" She said quietly._

_He frowned more, nodding. "Yeah."_

_"Well, he, hm," she looked away, "he wanted to ask me out, on a date." She told him in a whisper._

_He paused at that, then reached up and touched her cheek, offering her a small smile. "Well, he has good taste."_

_"That's not all," she said quietly, looking up at him, "after I told him I was engaged, showed him my ring, he still kissed me."_

_The smile faded from his face. "He what?"_

_"I pushed him away right away, but--" she sighed and looked down._

_His jaw tightened involuntarily and he forced himself to take a deep breath._

_With a deep breath, she squeezed his hand and stepped closer, "you promised," she reminded him quietly._

_"I promised not to do anything bad. That doesn't mean I'm not going to confront him."_

_"You can't!" She told him, her eyes widening, "if my brother finds out, he will probably use it against you."_

_"You think he wouldn't use it against me if I let some other guy kiss you and didn't confront him?"_

_She sighed softly and looked down, shrugging a little, "the private said my brother told him he should talk to me." She admitted in a whisper._

_"I'm not surprised. Your brother hates my guts." He looked away._

_"If he had it his way, I would never marry anyone, I would spend the rest of my life living with him and his wife," she whispered then shook her head, "and it doesn't matter if he likes you or not because I love you."_

_His expression softened at that and he turned his head to look at her, lifting a hand to her face once more. "I love you, too."_

_Leaning into his touch, she nodded a little and smiled slightly up at him, "that's all that matters, right?"_

_He dipped his head, kissing her softly. "That's all that matters."_

* * *

Oliver shifted closer to her as he stirred from unconsciousness, his arm draped around her waist.

When she felt him move, she sighed deeply, stirring too and stretching a little next to him.

His arm tightened protectively around her just a little, and he buried his face against her hair and neck, yawning.

"Matters," Chloe mumbled quietly, then shivered a little and squeezed his hand, still mostly unconscious.

His eyebrows furrowed a little at her soft murmur. He opened his eyes slowly, the words echoing in his head. _That's all the matters._ He blinked a few times, lifting his head and looking down at her, his chest tightening as he realized it had happened again: they'd shared another dream.

She opened her eyes lazily when she felt him moving behind her and made a quiet noise, turning her head toward him.

Their gazes met and he held his breath for a moment. "Morning," he whispered.

"Morning," she whispered, turning slightly on the bed to face him, "what's wrong?" She asked sleepily, then lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she yawned.

"Do you remember what you dreamt about?"

Chloe looked at him for a second, blinking a few times and just as she started to shake her head, she paused and frowned, "Lex?"

"We were talking about him," he murmured. "In the dream I was having."

"Yeah," she nodded a little, frowning as she remembered "there was a beach."

Oliver held his breath again for a moment. "He'd kissed you."

She closed her eyes and her stomach turned instantly, "and I pushed him away."

He leaned down, resting his forehead against hers as he fell silent.

Chloe shifted closer to him and cupped his cheek, "we need to set up the exam with Dr. Hamilton."

"We need to do it somewhere safer," he murmured.

"Where?" She asked quietly, raising her eyebrows a little.

"Star City," he suggested, holding her gaze.

She took a deep breath, suddenly fully awake, and nodded a little, "I can start working on the article on the way, I want it published as soon as possible."

He was quiet for a moment, watching her. "Once this goes public, Chloe, there's no going back." His voice was very soft.

Touching his cheek with her fingertips, she nodded, "I know."

Oliver turned his head and kissed her fingers, then met her eyes once more. "You'll never be completely safe," he whispered.

Chloe held her breath and nodded slightly, "I'll be safe with you."

He reached down, cupping her cheek in his hand. "I'll do whatever it takes."

"I know," she whispered and smiled a little, kissing his palm, "I know we will be okay."

"And we'll be together," he murmured, stroking her bottom lip lightly with his thumb.

"Always," she whispered before kissing his thumb, then her eyes widened slightly, even if she knew it was true, that she was never going to be without him again, it still sounded a little overwhelming.

Oliver brushed his nose against hers, closing his eyes as a soft smile touched his mouth.

Chloe wrapped her arms around him, then brushed her lips against his, this time, actually managing to stop the words she wanted to say from rolling out of her mouth, it was far too soon for those.

He deepened the kiss slowly, sliding one arm beneath her and tugging her closer.

She made a quiet noise against the back of her throat and pulled him closer too, it felt like it had been so long since he'd touched her, and it had been less than forty-eight hours, she didn't know what she would do if she had to go longer than that without seeing him.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he murmured, breaking the kiss and pressing his lips to her jaw.

"I'm okay," she whispered, keeping her eyes closed, "I think I was worried in the dream and I still haven't been able to shake it off."

"Can I help?" he whispered back, kissing her collarbone.

Chloe grinned softly and shivered slightly, turning her head and pressing her nose to his temple, "you already are..." she whispered.

* * *

It had been three days since the article had been published and it was still being reprinted and talked about all over the papers and internet. Chloe had, of course, used a pen-name, but she knew it wouldn't matter because very few people had the information that she published and it was only a matter of time before Lex narrowed it down to her.

But that wasn't what they were focusing on. They had been in Star City for nearly a week already and Dr. Hamilton had monitored their sleep twice and on both nights, although their brainwaves weren't matching, their dreams had been exactly the same and they still weren't any closer to figuring out why this was happening. No matter how many times she went over the papers Dr. Hamilton had given them, none of it made sense still.

"We might need to contact an specialist," she whispered, mug in hand as she stared down at the papers spread over the table.

"To be honest with you, I have no idea what kind of specialist _to_ contact," he admitted, glancing up at her.

She sighed a little and nodded, then sipped on her coffee as she pulled a knee up against her chest, resting her chin on it as she eyed the papers still, "I tried researching and aside from a couple of very amateur looking sites, I didn't find anything."

Oliver was quiet for a moment. "Emil didn't have any suggestions either. I don't know what to think."

"If only we had something concrete from the dream like, which city, or... a name, a year..." she whispered, not really aware she was saying those things out loud, because the idea was crazy anyway.

He paused at that, watching her. "So you think the dreams are real? That it all actually happened?"

Chloe blinked and looked up at him, "No?" She tried then sighed, "I don't know, I mean, don't you think it's weird that all the dreams look like they are in the 30s or 40s? Our clothes, hair, your car, the whole being engaged thing when we can't be older than twenty or so and then the whole army thing..."

Oliver bit the inside of his cheek, cocking his head to gaze at her. "I don't know. How would it even be possible? Reincarnation?"

She threw her hands up and shrugged, shaking her head, "I don't know, but it's weird that we never dream about _our_ time, and the dreams actually follow a sequence."

He considered that. "I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just...I don't know. It's not something I ever really thought about before."

"I hadn't considered reincarnation, actually," she told him quietly, pursing her lips together and wondering just how crazy he was going to think she was when she explained the rest of what she was thinking.

"Oh." He sat back in his chair, picking up his mug and taking a sip of coffee, sighing softly.

Chloe took a deep breath and leaned back against her chair, crossing her legs on top of it before looking at him, "I was possessed by spirits twice before."

His eyebrows furrowed at that. "Okay..."

"I know it sounds crazy and out there," she whispered, "but our dreams feel so real, almost like an out of body experience..."

"You think we're possessed?" He frowned.

"I don't know, when I was possessed, it was a continuous thing, I couldn't remember where I was or how I got there when I woke up."

Oliver's frown deepened. "But this...isn't like that, right?"

"No," she admitted and shrugged a little, "and the girl in the dreams, she still feels like me, maybe a younger, more sheltered version of me, but still me."

"The guy in the dream feels like me. Just...poorer." He smiled just a bit.

Chloe smiled a little at that and shook her head, "nothing wrong with that."

He was quiet for a moment. "So what do we do?"

With a deep, tired sigh, she shook her head, rubbing her hands over her face, "I don't know."

Sighing softly as well, Oliver scooted his chair back and rose to his feet, moving around to stand behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders. "We'll figure it out," he murmured, beginning to massage her shoulders and neck.

The second he touched her, she felt a familiar surge of energy running through her body and it instantly relaxed slightly, "I just feel like we haven't made any progress at all..." she told him quietly, lifting her head to look up at him as she covered his hands with hers.

"It's only been a few days," he murmured, meeting her eyes. It dawned on him how accurate that was. They hadn't really known each other long.

Chloe blinked a couple of times and looked away, frowning a little. It had only been a few days, less than two weeks, in fact since Clark had brought him over to the Talon apartment, "it feels longer," like a lifetime.

"I know," he admitted, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. "Like a lifetime."

She closed her eyes and frowned a little before looking up at him, "that's exactly what I was thinking."

Oliver met her eyes once more. "I would say I'm surprised, but..."

Pursing her lips, she nodded a little and squeezed his hands, "I know."

He watched her for a long moment, then nodded his head at her. "Come on."

"What?" She asked quietly, even as she turned slightly toward him so she could get up.

A smile tugged at his mouth. "I have an idea."

"Oh?" Chloe raised her eyebrows curiously as she stood up, waiting for him to lead her.

He flashed her his best charming grin and winked at her as he tugged her hand gently. "Go get dressed."

"Where are we going?" She asked, frowning a little.

"Trust me," he told her, leaning in and kissing her softly.

Her expression softened and she returned the kiss then pulled back, nodding, "I do." She told him quietly before pulling away and with a soft smile, made her way back to the bedroom to change into something else.

He grinned and watched her go, his eyes filled with warmth.

Chloe came back a few minutes later, she'd changed into a sun dress because they were in Star City after all and it was a lot warmer than she was used to, "does this work?"

He turned to look at her once more, holding his breath as he caught sight of her. "Wow," he whispered, his gaze trailing over her.

She raised her eyebrows a little and although she was still worried about their situation, she couldn't help but smile at his reaction.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she walked up to him.

Oliver slid his arms around her without hesitation. "Welcome."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him, "can you tell me what you're planning now?"

At that, his mouth curled into a grin. "I thought we could hit the library after some breakfast. Do a little more of the old-fashioned kind of research."

"Oh," she raided her eyebrows and smiled softly, "old-fashioned sounds fitting."

"Well, and let's face it. If we stay here, we won't get much research done."

Chloe grinned a little at that and nodded, "it does seem to be an issue."

He grinned back at her involuntarily. "You're completely to blame for that," he teased.

" _Me_?" She raised her eyebrows and slid a hand down his arm before taking his hand in his, "how am I to blame? Personally, I think it's all your fault."

"Well, because if you weren't so damn gorgeous..." He trailed off, ducking his head and kissing her jaw. "We wouldn't have this _issue_."

She grinned at that and shook her head, closing her eyes and tugging on his hand, "I blame it on you being so damn irresistible."

He grinned against her skin. "Plus you always smell so good," he murmured, licking lightly at her skin.

Chloe shivered lightly and held her breath, "keep this up and we're not going anywhere."

He kissed her in the same spot once more and reluctantly pulled his head away to look at her. "Just proving a point."

"I love your point," she told him, looking up at him and smirking a little, "but it just proves I'm right."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "How does it prove you're right?"

"It's all your fault," she said with a smile, then pulled away, squeezing his hand then starting toward the door.

Oliver chuckled involuntarily, following her.


	10. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1226574.html) || [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1230986.html) || [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1234007.html) || [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1237104.html) || [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1239215.html) || [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1242001.html) || [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1243995.html) || [Eight](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1246945.html) || [Nine](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1248807.html)

 

They'd spent nearly two weeks researching, and still hadn't found anything. After the first week, they even pulled the rest of the team in on it, but not even Vic could manage to come up with a sure-fire explanation. The dreams had continued every time the two of them slept in the same bed--which was every night. A dream about their wedding, about him confronting both Lex and her brother, and more than one dream that had caused them to awaken _hungry_ for the other. All the while he'd been trying to balance his duties as CEO of Queen Industries and his secret identity. They'd taken out two more of Lex's facilities in the past two weeks, as well. To his surprise and amazement, Chloe was able to work a computer almost as fast as Vic, and she had taken to guiding the team on missions.

He'd given her the codename Watchtower.

Now, as he got home from a long day at QI, his heart was heavy as he stepped into the living room and glanced around, not seeing her anywhere. "Chloe?"

She didn't hear him opening the door since she'd been drying her hair in the bathroom, she was already so at home at his home, she didn't miss Metropolis or the Talon apartment at all, the only things about Kansas she did miss were her few friends and family, Lois and Clark being on the very top of that list, but she talked to them often and she was, despite all her questions and doubts about what was going on, _happy_ with Oliver. She was truly home with him.

"I'm in here," she called when she heard her name, stepping out into the bedroom and starting toward the living room.

Oliver met her halfway, winding his arms around her instantly and kissing her cheek. "Hey."

"Hey," she smiled softly, wrapping her arms around him too and turning her head to press a kiss against the corner of his mouth.

He turned his head and returned the kiss without hesitation, then dropped his head to rest against hers for a moment.

She kept her eyes closed for a moment then sighed deeply and smiling, opened her eyes to look up at him, lifting a hand to cup his cheek, whenever they went a few hours without seeing one another, this was as tame as a greeting between them got, "long day?" She asked in a whisper.

"Longer one tomorrow," he murmured, turning his head to kiss the palm of her hand, then meeting her eyes, his own troubled. "I have to go to Metropolis for a meeting."

"Oh," her stomach tightened both at the information and his expression, "how long?"

"A couple of days." He sighed softly.

"I can come with you?" She suggested even though she knew the answer, "I can see Lois and Clark for a while."

"Chloe..." His chest tightened and he looked down at the floor.

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, tightening her arms around him, "I know," she whispered quietly, now that they were sure Lex knew she was behind the article, she knew she couldn't be in the city and she knew that, she second she set foot on it, he would know.

He wrapped his arms around her more tightly, as well. "I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing her temple.

"It's not your fault," she whispered, hugging him closely, "but you'll have to be careful," even though as far as they knew, Lex didn't know she and Oliver even knew each other, she had to make sure he was okay.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah. I'm not Lex's favorite person either, but I don't think he'd come after me at this point."

"Still," she said quietly, "avoid him and please be careful."

"I will," he promised, kissing her temple again. "And while I'm gone, I'm going to have the guys stay here with you, just in case."

"One of them should go with you," she told him, pulling her head back to look up at him.

He smiled a little at that. "If I need help, I'll call Clark for back up," he promised.

She relaxed a little at that and nodded, "promise?"

"Cross my heart," he said softly.

Chloe smiled a little at that and nodded, leaning closer and kissing him softly.

He kissed her back without hesitation. "I leave first thing in the morning," he murmured, brushing his nose against hers. "That means we have the entire night to ourselves."

"Oh," she smiled a little more, lifting her hand to brush his hair, "that makes it a little better."

Oliver smiled back at her as their eyes met. It definitely did.

* * *

_She sniffed a little, handkerchief gripped tightly around her fingers as she glanced and saw her brother getting into the ship after saying his goodbyes to his wife. And then, with her chest so tight she could barely breath, she looked up at her husband, "you don't have to go," she whispered brokenly._

_His chest tightened even more at the sight of her tears. "Yes, I do," he whispered back, reaching out to cup her face in his hands. "But it's not forever. I'll be back before you know it. You'll see."_

_"Promise?" She whispered to him, holding on tightly to his arms, her vision blurry with tears, "you have to come back to me."_

_"Cross my heart," he murmured, dipping his head to kiss her._

_With a silent sob, she returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around him and holding on to him tightly._

_"I love you." His voice was soft. "So much."_

_"I love you too," she sniffled again, still holding on to him, "please be careful," her voice broke, "I need you to be careful."_

_"I will. I will, I swear," he whispered, brushing his nose against hers._

_"And write," she sobbed quietly, "every day, even if you can't send the letters every day."_

_He slid his arms around her and pulled her close to him, holding her. "You'll get sick of hearing from me I'll write so much," he murmured against her ear._

_She shook her head, crying harder and holding on to him tightly, "I will never get sick of hearing from you." She whispered._

_"Private," he heard her brother call._

_He shut his eyes, pulling away to gaze at her for a moment and kissing her once more, pouring every ounce of love and affection he felt for her into the action._

_She did her best to do the same as she kissed him back, not even caring that her brother, his sergeant, could see them and she knew how he felt about public displays of affection. The last thing she wanted was to let go of him and break the kiss, but she hadn't been able to stop crying and when she couldn't breathe anymore, she had to._

_"Love you," he whispered, cupping her cheek in his hand. "I'll see you soon."_

_"Love you," she said quietly, turning her head to kiss his palm then looking back at him._

_He kissed her forehead, then forced himself to take a deep breath as he backed away from her._

_She kept her eyes on him, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as he stepped away from her, her chest so painfully tight, she could barely breathe._

_He turned and boarded the ship, his chest as tight as hers. Once he was aboard, he turned and lifted his hand to wave at her, holding his breath._

_With a shaky hand, she did her best to wave back at him, tears rolling down her cheek as she tried to keep her knees from giving under her. She didn't know when she was going to see him again, but something told her, it was going to be a long time._

Chloe woke up with her own sob, her eyes were warm with tears and Ollie's arms were so tight around her, she couldn't have moved if she wanted to. All she felt was a dreadful feeling that she was never going to see him again, so instead of trying to pull away, she wrapped her arms tightly around the ones he had around her.

"Chloe?" His voice was soft as he heard her sob, and he opened his eyes to look at her worriedly.

She sniffled quietly and took a deep breath, shaking her head, "the dream," she whispered to him, lowering her head and kissing his hand.

Oliver swallowed hard, shifting closer to her. "I know," he admitted, tightening his arms around her.

"She thinks he's never coming back," she told him quietly, turning her head a little to look at him.

He lifted one hand to her cheek. "He didn't want to leave."

"He was leaving for war, wasn't he?" She asked quietly, leaning into his touch.

"Yeah, he was. For Germany," he murmured.

"World War II," she sighed deeply, turning completely in his arms and wrapping her arms around him, moving as close to him as she could.

He rested his head against hers, their bodies pressed close together. "Yeah." He closed his eyes.

Chloe closed her eyes too and held him close, the dream version of her been so scared, so lost, so broken. Like she couldn't keep going without him.

"It's okay," he murmured, threading his fingers in her hair. "Everything's okay."

"I know," she whispered quietly, kissing his jaw and tightening her hold on him.

Oliver glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Not quite six in the morning. He dropped a kiss against the corner of her mouth.

She sighed softly and relaxed slightly, turning her head a little and brushing her lips against his, "do we still have time?"

"My plane doesn't leave for over an hour," he murmured, kissing her softly.

Chloe relaxed a little more and returned the kiss, hugging him close. After that dream, the last thing she wanted was to let him go, to go two days without seeing him, but compared to the dream version of her, she knew two days was much better than the alternative.

He rested his forehead against hers, letting his eyes close once more and sighing very softly. "I don't want to leave you."

Her stomach tightened a little at his words and she brushed her fingers against his cheek softly, "I know you don't."

"Maybe I should cancel the meeting," he murmured, leaning into her touch.

She held her breath a little, as much as she wanted to agree with it, she shook her head, "no, go, maybe you will be able to get it all done today and come back before tonight?"

"Maybe," he echoed with a small smile, brushing his nose against hers.

Chloe ran her fingertips over his cheek and smiled slightly, "I'll miss you," she told him quietly.

"I'll miss you, too," he admitted, opening his eyes and watching her for a moment. "Will you be okay here with the guys?"

"Yeah," she promised quietly, watching him closely, "and I'll call Clark as soon as you leave and ask him to keep an eye on you."

A smile tugged at his lips at that. "All right," he said just as quietly.

Chloe smiled a little at him and brushed her lips against his once more as she stopped herself from saying the words, it had been the one thing she'd had control over since meeting him and she knew there was no doubt how they both felt, but it wasn't the right time yet.

As if sensing what she was holding back, he slowly slid his hand down over her heart as he returned her kiss.

She smiled against his lips and deepened the kiss a little more, covering his hand with hers and giving it a light squeeze.

He smiled back. They only had an hour, but he intended to make the most of it.

* * *

Oliver sighed softly as he sank onto his bed at the clocktower, phone in his hand. It was nearly eleven, and he was tired from a long day of meetings, but he wasn't going to be able to sleep unless he at least heard her voice first. He paused at that thought, wondering how he'd gotten to that point so fast with a woman he'd literally only known a few weeks. It didn't make any logical sense but he didn't honestly care. It felt _right_. He dialed her cell number and waited.

Since it was only nine in California, Chloe, Bart, Victor and Arthur had just finished dinner when her phone rang, she excused herself and went to pick it up, smiling when she saw his name on the screen, "hey," she said quietly, then started toward the bedroom for some privacy.

"Hey." He relaxed instantly, smiling softly. "How's it going?"

"I miss you," she said before she could stop herself, "but other than that, it's okay. How are things in Metropolis?"

"Slow," he admitted. "And I miss you, too."

"Oh," she frowned a little as she closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed, his bed that she was already thinking of as their bed, "how slow?"

"I have three more meetings tomorrow." He sighed.

Her stomach turned a little, "do you think you'll be able to come back tomorrow night still?"

"Should be," he said softly. "Even if it's late, I'll be back."

"Maybe you can dismiss your pilot and have either Bart or Clark give you a ride back?" She suggested quietly, laying back on the bed sideways.

Oliver paused at that. "Not a bad idea."

Chloe smiled a little, "that way you can be home as soon as you're done," she told him quietly, not even noticing her choice of words.

He did notice her word choice and he smiled. "Looking forward to it."

"Me too," she sighed softly, then shook her head, "this is so messed up, Ollie..."

He was quiet for a moment. "It seems that way," he said quietly. "But it doesn't feel that way."

"I know, which just makes it more messed up," she told him, "I've never missed someone this much probably since..." she considered before continuing, "since my mom left when I was little."

The breath caught in his throat at her admission. "I miss you even when I just go across town to work," he whispered.

Her chest tightened a little and she turned on her side, curling up on the bed and pulling her knees to her chest, "I do too, but this is even more than that."

"I know," he said quietly. "What are you up to tonight?"

She took a deep breath and shook her head, "nothing much, the boys are taking turns patrolling, one at a time." She told him quietly, "we just had pizza."

He managed a faint smile at that, even though his chest was tight. "The news around here is that Lex is out of the country. Indefinitely." His voice was soft. "I don't know if it's true or not. He may just be lying low."

Chloe sighed a little at the mention of Lex and shook her head, "I doubt it, he is probably lurking around, waiting for the perfect time to strike."

His jaw tightened a little. "Then I'll cut him off at the throat."

"That's not something we have to worry about now," she reminded him, "him hiding is just making the article more believable, the second someone, _anyone_ spots him, it will be all over the papers."

Oliver blew out a breath. "I know. But the thought of him getting anywhere near you again..."

"I know," she said quietly then took a deep breath, "we won't let it happen."

"No. We won't," he agreed, laying back on the bed.

"Don't think about it right now," she told him, reaching over and touching his pillow, "focus on being safe while you're there."

"I'm at the clocktower. Security system is up and running, and Clark's keeping an ear out," Oliver said softly. "I'm okay."

"Did you talk to him?" She asked, curiously.

"No, but I saw him briefly."

"Where?" She frowned, raising her eyebrows.

"Queen Industries," he told her. "I got the impression he wanted to talk, but I was tied up in meetings."

"Oh," Chloe paused for a moment, "maybe I can call him tomorrow and ask him to give you a ride back so you can find out what is going on?"

"Yeah, that'd be good," he agreed.

"Okay," she told him then took a deep breath, "but if he starts being annoying, tell him to back off." She was grateful that Clark had agreed so easily to keep an ear out for Ollie while he was in Metropolis, but she knew how over protective he could be.

A smile tugged at his lips. "Somehow it feels like I've done that before..."

"Well, you did in the dream world," she told him, smiling a little bit, "but this Clark isn't my big brother, well, he is kind of like a brother to me, but he's not nearly as self-righteous."

"And he's not my boss," he teased. "So."

"So we're good?" She asked, smiling softly.

"Always," he said quietly.

Chloe smiled a little more and nodded a little, "I wish it was tomorrow already."

He glanced at his clock. "It almost is for me."

"Oh, true," she frowned a little, checking the clock next to the bed, "you should probably get some rest."

"I'd rather just talk to you."

Her stomach suddenly got warm and she nodded, "I rather just talk to you too, but you have to stay awake for your meetings tomorrow."

Oliver sighed softly, knowing she was right. "Yeah. And I'll be home as early as I can."

"I'll let Clark know," she told him quietly, "get some sleep."

"You too." He paused, a small smile touching his lips. "Sweet dreams."

Chloe smiled softly and nodded, taking a deep breath, "as long as you're in them."

"Ditto." He grinned. "I'll see you soon."

"See you soon," she said quietly, hesitating before hanging up.

He hung up too, staring at his phone for a long moment and then sighing softly.


	11. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

He dreamed.

_His jaw was tight as he stood beside the bald-headed private who'd kissed_ her _only a few months ago. He hadn't spoken to the man since their confrontation, but he was still angry._

_The private glanced at him and smirked a little, then adjusted his gun as he turned to look ahead once more._

_"Jackass," he said under his breath, looking ahead, as well._

_"Careful private," he said, leaning forward, "or I'll make sure you don't get back home to your bride," he muttered under his breath, "she'll need someone to comfort her..."_

_"It'd be a cold day in hell before that person would _ever_ be you," he responded with a smirk, knowing that it was the absolute truth._

_"With a little help from the Sergeant, it would take very little effort on my part."_

_"Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better about her complete lack of interest in you." He chuckled softly._

_"I don't care about her interest in me," he told him._

_His jaw tightened at that and he turned his head to look at the other man._

_The private smirked more and glanced at him before looking ahead one more time._

_His hands tightened around his gun. "You don't know the first thing about what it's like to love someone, do you?"_

_The other man actually chuckled at that, "love won't get you anywhere."_

_"That's where you're wrong," he informed him, shaking his head. "That's the only thing that gets you anywhere."_

_"Won't get you back home," he told him, smirking once again then aiming his gun and without warning, shooting at the enemy._

_"If I die here at least someone cares," he responded before facing forward. Before the other man could even respond, he was thrown backwards violently, pain exploding in his chest._

_"Private!?" A third voice sounded, more shots were fired and then the Major picked him up, "private down," he announced to the others, "I'm taking him back."_

_"He'll never make it," said the bald-headed man, smirking._

_The Major paid him no attention, he took him to one of the tents and immediately started to tend to his wounds, "private, stay with me."_

_His eyes were glassy, his body spasming with pain. "Oh God..."_

_The blood was gushing from his chest and as the Major cut his uniform open, he realized the bullet was in his chest, his face fell even at he continued to clean the wound._

_He shivered violently, shutting his eyes. "Tell her I'm sorry," he whispered._

_Even as he pressured the wound, he nodded, "is there anything else you'd like me to say?"_

_"I love her." His chest hurt--not just from the bullet, but from the realization that he was breaking his promise to return to her. That he was going to break _her_ heart._

_"She will know," he promised, knowing that there was nothing else he could do, he reached for the private's hand and removed his wedding ring, "I'll give her this."_

_A tear slid down his cheek. "So sorry." His voice was nearly inaudible._

_"Rest," the Major told him, lowering his voice, "you will be with her next time."_

_He drew in a shuddering breath._

_And then grew still._

* * *

Chloe sighed restlessly as she stared at the clock, she was tired, she'd been up since before six that morning and she had made sure to keep herself as busy as possible all day because she knew it'd be hard to fall asleep without him, but now that her eyes were getting heavy, she almost regretted it because she knew that the second she fell asleep, she would dream of him and when she woke up, he wouldn't be there with her, and she would just miss him more.

No matter how much she tried to fight sleep, however, in less than half an hour, her breathing evened out and she was dreaming.

_She stood in front of a mirror, pulling her dress around her waist and turning sideways to look at her reflection, smiling a little as she took a deep, excited breath. He should be getting her letter today and hopefully, _hopefully_ , her brother would discharge him sooner rather than later, he had to when he heard the good news, or so her sister-in-law said he would._

_The major stood on the doorstep for a long moment, then drew in a breath and lifted his hand up to knock on the door. He'd done this before, many times, and it never got easier. Not really. He knocked and then waited silently._

_Holding her breath, she looked over at the door, she knew it was silly to hope it'd be him, he hadn't even gotten her letter yet, but still, at the thought, her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't wait to see him again. And although she still knew it was silly, she rushed to the door, all the air leaving her lungs as she saw not him, not her sister-in-law or one of the neighbors, but a Major, the last person any of the wives ever wanted to see._

_He met her eyes, reading the panic there immediately. "Ma'am I'm Major Hall," he said softly. "May I come in?"_

_She wanted to say no, her chest was already so tight and the tears were already clouding her vision, she wanted to scream and tell him he had the wrong house, but instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach and stepped aside._

_"I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I'm here because of bad news," he said quietly after he stepped inside and closed the door. He hesitated a moment. "Your husband was shot in battle."_

_A sob broke through her and she lowered her head, her chest so tight, it felt like it was on fire._

_He bowed his head, as well. "He wanted me to tell you how sorry he was. He loved you very much." His voice was quiet._

_"Are-" she sobbed again, "are you sure it was him?" She looked up at him again, her eyes wide, "he promised he'd come back and he'd never break his promise."_

_He shut his eyes for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the wedding ring. He held it out to her wordlessly._

_She gasped, recognizing the ring instantly then reaching out with a shaky hand to take it, her head spinning._

_"I'm very sorry," he said softly._

_"Ple-" she sobbed again as her fingers closed around the ring and she looked down again, "please leave." She whispered, her entire body shaking as she started to cry harder._

_"You'll see him again. I promise," he murmured, turning toward the door._

_She followed, barely able to see through her tears as she locked the door, then turned and headed back to the bedroom, closing and locking that door too before laying on their bed, she slid his ring on her finger, then curled up into a ball, her arms wrapped tightly, protectively around her stomach, and cried. She cried for hours, she didn't know how long, she cried until she couldn't anymore._

_She'd heard the knocks on the door, on the window, but she didn't move, she didn't have any strength left in her to move. The Major's words echoed in her head and she cupped her stomach, she would see him again,_ they _would see him again, she just had to take them where he was now, so they could be together._

_It wasn't until she managed to hold on to that thought, that she managed to relax enough to let her eyes close. They would sleep now, until she could find him. Next time._

Chloe woke up startled, breathing heavily like she'd been too long without air, she gasped and looked down, realizing she was sitting up, both her hands were covering her stomach, her eyes were wide and she reached for the bedside table, blindly picking up her phone and calling him immediately.

He was already awake, staring out the windows of the city, where he'd been since he'd woken from his dream. He'd been wondering how the story ended. Now he wished he didn't know. The ringing of the telephone startled him from his thoughts, but he was across the room and pressing it to his ear by the second ring. "Hello?"

"Ollie," she breathed, relief washing over her the second she heard his voice, even as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Chloe? Are you all right?" He could hear the waver in her voice.

"He's dead," she whispered, her chest clenching painfully.

The breath caught in his throat as he realized she'd had the other half of the dream. "I know. I uh--I dreamt about it."

Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "she's dead too."

His eyes widened at that. " _What_? How?"

She laid her forehead against her knees and sighed, "when she found out she just... she cried and just, laid there until she was gone." She murmured, "broken heart." It was the best that she could make sense of it anyway.

Oliver swallowed hard, raking a hand through his hair. "Are you all right?"

Chloe took a deep breath and lifted her free hand to cover her stomach, her eyes getting warm with tears, "she was pregnant," she muttered.

He sucked in a breath at that, feeling as though someone had socked him in the gut and knocked the wind out of him.

She sniffled quietly but remained silent, just hearing him breaking on the other side as she opened her eyes and looked down at her stomach, rubbing it gently, she'd felt like she had in the dreams after she woke up before, but this time, it was stronger.

"Do you think we'll still keep dreaming about them?" he asked finally. "Now that we know how their story ended?"

"I don't know," Chloe whispered, closing her eyes again.

He was quiet for another moment, looking at the clock. "Can I call you right back?"

She frowned a little and sniffed once more, sitting up, "yeah," she whispered, even though she didn't want to hang up.

"It won't take long," he whispered.

"Okay," she said quietly.

He hung up the phone, immediately dialing Bart's number. "I need a favor."

Bart frowned down at the phone then nodded, shrugging, "yeah man, what's up?"

"I'm at the clocktower in Metropolis. Would you mind coming to get me?"

"Be right there," Bart said, and appeared at the Clocktower a second later.

Oliver blinked and offered him a small, shaky smile. "Thanks."

"Something wrong?" Bart asked, frowning as he looked at Oliver.

"You know how they say when you dream you die, you actually die?"

Bart's eyes widened, "who died?"

"I did." He paused and looked down for a moment. "And so did she."

"But you're alive!" Bart frowned hard, then his eyes widened comically, "Chloe isn't dead, is she?"

"No, I just talked to her on the phone. But I need to see her. That's why I called."

"Oh," Bart nodded and stepped closer, he'd leaned not to try to understand what was happening between Chloe and Oliver, "alright man, just hold on."

"Thanks, Bart," he said quietly, shutting his eyes and willing himself not to throw up. When he opened his eyes again, they'd stopped moving and he was in his penthouse suite in Star City. He nodded at the younger man, making his way past the still-sleeping Victor and AC in the living room and headed down the hallway to the bedroom, opening the door.

Chloe hadn't moved from the bed, phone still in hand as her other hand still cupped her stomach, when she heard the door open, however, she looked up and her eyes widened, within seconds, she was up, standing in front of him and had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

He hugged her back just as tightly, kicking the door shut with his foot and shutting his eyes as he buried his face against her hair.

She closed her eyes tightly and hid her face against his neck, her chest painfully tight like it had been in the dream except this time, because he _was_ there, with her. He wasn't hurt, he wasn't dead, he was _there_ safe, in her arms.

"I've got you," he whispered, sliding his arms beneath her and picking her up, carrying her over to the bed. "It's okay."

Her eyes teared up at his words and she tightened her hold on him even more, she had felt what it would have been like to lose him and she never wanted to feel it again.

"I love you," Oliver murmured, not really thinking about it. "I know it's crazy under the circumstances. But it's true."

The breath caught in her throat and she shook her head, pulling her head back to look at him, "I love you," she whispered, "I don't care if it's crazy."

He gazed down at her, his eyes intense as he dipped his head to kiss her.

Chloe kissed him deeply, still not letting go of him, she had to talk to him, to tell him, but first, she needed to make sure he was really there.

After a moment he broke the kiss, dropping his mouth to her jaw and kissing her there softly.

She shivered a little a held her breath before pulling her head back, "Ollie," she whispered, looking at him.

Oliver lifted his head to look at her, his eyes questioning.

"What if," she held her breath, searching his eyes, "what if I'm pregnant?"

He searched her eyes. "Do you think you are?"

Pursing her lips together, she nodded slightly, "I'm not late and I haven't been sick or more tired than normal but... I _feel_ it."

He was quiet for a moment and he shifted slightly on the bed, pulling her shirt up a little and leaning down. He pressed a kiss against her stomach, closing his eyes.

Chloe closed her eyes, swallowing hard and lifting a hand to cup his head, "we're picking up where they left off," she whispered, not even aware that she'd been thinking that.

"Maybe," he murmured, resting his head gently on her abdomen.

She ran her fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, keeping her eyes closed, they had to find answers somehow, but if she was right about the baby, that wouldn't matter nearly as much.

"We'll be okay," he said softly.

Chloe held her breath as she turned her head to look at him then nodded a little, "as long as we have each other."

He turned his head to look back at her and smiled softly.

She smiled softly and let her hand drop to his cheek, touching it gently.

"We should call Emil," he said softly, gazing at her.

Chloe nodded a little and took a deep breath, "lets wait until morning?"

"Yeah," he whispered, nodding back at her and lifting his head from her stomach. He rested his hand there lightly, meeting her eyes and holding her gaze.

She covered his hand with hers and held his gaze back, "I love you," she murmured.

"I love you, too," he whispered back.


	12. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

[Prologue](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1226574.html) || [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1230986.html) || [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1234007.html) || [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1237104.html) || [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1239215.html) || [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1242001.html) || [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1243995.html) || [Eight](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1246945.html) || [Nine](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1248807.html) || [Ten](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1251953.html) || [Eleven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/1257311.html)

 

Oliver was pacing the living room. Emil hadn't been gone even a half hour, but had promised to have the results of Chloe's blood test back within six hours, tops. If the man somehow managed to verify what he knew Chloe already believed was true in under an hour, he planned on sending the good doctor on a nice, long trip to a destination of his choosing.

He had canceled all his meetings in Metropolis that day. He didn't care who it upset or angered, he wasn't leaving Chloe's side again unless there was some kind of life-or-death emergency.

"Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?" He glanced at Chloe, who was sitting on the sofa.

Chloe looked up at him and shook her head a little, smiling slightly, "I'm okay, try to relax, Ollie. You can't pace for six hours."

He raised his eyebrows. "Technically I think I could."

"I'd rather you didn't," she admitted, looking up at him and making room for him on the couch.

At that, he paused, then moved to sit down beside her, winding his arms around her.

She wrapped her arms around him too and sighed deeply, relaxing a little, she'd been incredibly relieved when he canceled his meetings, she didn't want not to be around him at that moment, especially not after the dream, and most of all, she didn't want to hear the confirmation from Dr. Hamilton on her own, "it's okay, Ollie." She told him quietly.

"You're not scared?" he murmured, resting his chin atop her head and rubbing his hand up and down her arm as he shut his eyes.

"No," she admitted quietly, pressing a kiss to his shoulder, "maybe it's because in my dream, before the Major came tell her the bad news, she was so happy..."

Oliver's arms tightened around her just a little, protectively, forcing himself to take a deep breath. Maybe he'd been wrong before, when she'd suggested possession. Maybe they _were_ possessed by whoever they'd been dreaming about for the last couple of weeks.

 

She pulled her head back slightly and looked up at him, pursing her lips together, "what are you thinking?" She whispered.

"Just trying to figure this all out," he said softly, reaching out and cradling her cheek in one hand.

"Are you scared?" She said quietly, rubbing a hand over his back slowly.

"A little," he admitted, searching her eyes. "I don't know anything about being a father."

"I don't know anything about being a mother either," she whispered, "but we will figure that out together, we still have time."

Oliver nodded and dipped his head to kiss her softly, resting his forehead against hers.

Chloe smiled a little and kissed him back, hugging him close then frowning when there was a knock on the door.

He sighed softly, placing a kiss against her forehead. "Probably one of the guys," he told her, rising to his feet.

"Probably," she agreed then took a deep breath and stood up too, running her hand down over her shirt as she did.

He offered her a soft smile, then headed to the door and pulled it open, blinking when he found Hal Jordan standing on the other side of it, along with a vaguely familiar looking older man. "Hal?" His eyes were wide.

"Don't pick up your phone anymore, figured I'd check in," Hal said with a shrug then motioned to the man next to him, "this is--"

"Major Hall?" Chloe said from where she stood a couple of steps behind Oliver, her eyes widening, her mouth a little dry all of the sudden, the one name that had appeared in all of their dreams had been his. This man she'd never met before but was suddenly standing right in front of her.

Oliver turned his head to look at Chloe, his eyes widening a little more and he quickly turned to face the other man once more. " _You._ "

A faint smile touched his mouth. "You can call me Carter. Carter Hall." His gaze shifted to Chloe, his expression softening just a little.

"What the hell is going on?" Oliver asked, shaking his head a little, and eyeing Carter with suspicion.

Hal frowned a little and looked between the three of them, "you know each other?" He asked, surprised.

Chloe instictively reached for Ollie's hand and stared at Carter, she wanted to ask him if he knew her, but it was pretty obvious that he did.

"I think I can explain things," Carter said, glancing at Hal and then at Oliver, then finally letting his gaze rest on Chloe.

"Please do," Oliver responded, his hand tightening around Chloe's just a little.

"Probably best if we come in first, Green Jeans," Carter responded with a smirk.

Hal raised his eyebrows at Carter then frowned, but just shook his head, deciding not to ask.

Chloe frowned too, her eyes still on the older man, she tugged on Oliver's hand and pulled him to the side so that the other two could come in.

"Green Jeans?" Oliver echoed as the two made their way inside his apartment and he shut the door. "What the hell does that mean?"

Carter rolled his eyes a little. "What do you think it means?"

"How do you know us?" Chloe asked finally, ignoring whatever the two of them were trying to get at. She wanted answers, not more questions.

He nodded to the sofa. "You should probably sit down," he told her.

Oliver's jaw tightened a little and he looked at Hal, raising his eyebrows before leading Chloe to the sofa and sitting.

Hal shook his head and raised his hands, "I just invited the guy for breakfast man, I have no idea what is going on." He explained before following the three of them.

Chloe sat down and took a deep breath, glancing at Ollie then back at Carter expectantly.

Carter sat down in one of the easy chairs near the couch, studying Chloe intently for a moment and then smiling just a bit. "Your being together already makes this much easier," he said, leaning back.

"Makes _what_ easier?" Oliver questioned, growing impatient.

"Explaining how I know you," Carter responded, keeping his gaze on Chloe.

"Well, I'm glad it makes it easier," she said, also impatiently as she sat up straight, "now if you wouldn't mind _sharing_ it with the rest of us."

Hal cocked his head a little at the attitude but didn't say anything, he had the feeling that even Carter's explanation wasn't going to help him much.

A smile tugged at Carter's mouth. "Do you believe in past lives?" he asked, watching her intently.

Oliver sucked in a breath and looked at Chloe sideways, then over at Hal.

Hal raised his eyebrows and looked at Oliver then shook his head a little, his eyes a little wide with confusion.

Chloe glanced at Ollie then looked back at Carter, "I'm starting to."

"How along ago did the two of you meet?" he asked, leaning forward a little.

"Four months ago," Oliver answered, his eyes narrowing a little as he watched the older man.

"And when you met, it felt like you already knew each other. Am I wrong?"

"No," Chloe admitted, her hand tightening around Ollie's.

"There was an instant pull, an almost instinctual tug you each felt toward the other."

Oliver held his breath for a moment. "Yes."

Carter watched them for a moment. "It's because you've always been together, the two of you."

Chloe stared at him for a moment and it sounded weird that she was even thinking this, but it was the only explanation she could think of, "like soulmates?" She asked, eyes narrowing a little.

"Exactly," he acknowledged, nodding at her. "When people die, they come back together. Over and over again."

"How do _you_ know?" She asked, frowning still.

"Because I've been around the wheel a thousand times. Literally." His gaze lowered to the floor.

Oliver opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again.

"But if what you're saying is true, we all have," she argued, "and we don't remember it happening or we would have been looking for each other," Chloe pointed out, glancing at Ollie before looking back at Carter, "and you obviously knew us when you got here, even though we've never met you before in this life."

"You misunderstand." Carter glanced at her once more. "Most people don't remember their previous lives. It's often too painful, especially if they can't be with their soul's other half for one reason or another. The brain supresses the information that a person can't deal with. I don't have that luxury."

"Why not?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Because several lifetimes ago, I was cursed, quite literally. To always remember," he said quietly.

"Oh," she squeezed Ollie's hand then took a deep breath, "so you always remember everyone you met in your past lives?"

"Only the more memorable ones," he informed her, looking between them.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, glancing at Chloe.

She held her breath and looked at Ollie then back at Carter, "what do you remember about us?"

He watched her for a moment, then looked at Ollie. "Your favorite color is green." There was a knowing smirk on his face.

He tensed a little at that, his hand tightening a little around Chloe's. "I'm sure it's a lot of people's favorite color."

"Do you know why?" Carter questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"I just like it?"

"Look at her eyes," he instructed.

Chloe's stomach tightened a little and she glanced at Oliver, her eyes a little wide.

Hal remained silent as he shifted on his chair, studying his best friend, fear and anxiety were not to emotions he connected with him and yet, there it was.

Oliver drew in a breath and turned his head to look at her, studying her intently, as he'd done time and again over the past few weeks. "Her eyes," he murmured. "They've always been green."

"Yes," Carter said with a nod. "Little things that don't seem significant to most are sometimes the details that stick with us the most when we come back."

He reached up and touched Chloe's cheek.

Chloe kept her eyes on Ollie and remained silent for a long moment, "the dreams," she said quietly, then forced herself to turn to look at Carter, "are they memories, then?"

"What have you been dreaming about?" he asked, leaning forward a little as he watched her.

"Us," she said quietly then shook her head, "except they are not really us, the dreams take place sometime around World War II and they are always in sequence, or were, anyway," she said, lowering her voice even more before taking a deep breath, they had managed to sleep a couple of hours that morning and they hadn't dreamed of anything at all. Clearing her throat she shook her head, "Ollie was a private and I was a nurse and we met at the base when he got shot."

Hal raised his eyebrows a little, he had heard about the dreams from Ollie and about how weird it was that they kept having the same dream, but he had never considered it could be something like that.

Carter drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "As far as I know, that was your last incarnation together," he told her quietly. "And I was the one who came to give you the bad news."

"I remember you," she said, nodding, "from the dream." Chloe took a deep breath, "you knew we were going to see each other again."

He offered her a faint smile. "Yes. I recognized the signs."

"Signs?" She echoed, frowning and glancing at Ollie.

"Of two souls that are bound together," he told her quietly.

Oliver shifted closer to her, winding his arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple.

Chloe leaned into him a little and nodded, taking a deep breath then looking back at Carter for a moment as she processed what he was telling them, "so he really died during the war?"

"Yes," Carter said, nodding a little and shifting his gaze to Oliver. "In the lifetimes I've known him, he's always been one of the first to jump into the fray when things are chaotic."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at that. "Sounds like you were right there with me."

"A lot of times, yes," he said, nodding, and glancing at Chloe. "And so is she, most of the time."

"Didn't sound like it from our dreams," Chloe said quietly then took a deep breath, "so all the people who looked familiar in our dreams, were they the same people we know now?"

"It's very likely," he said with a nod. "Certain people incarnate together, time and again, to learn from one another, to teach one another things we failed to learn in previous incarnations."

Chloe nodded slightly and took a deep breath, brushing her thumb over the back of his hand unconsciously, "have you ever met anyone who picked up where they left off in the previous life?"

"What do you mean?" Carter's eyebrows rose.

She took a deep breath and shook her head a little, "just how quickly things are happening between the two of us," she said quietly, glancing at Ollie, she didn't know how much she should tell Carter and especially considering the man Chloe knew was like a brother to Ollie was sitting right there too.

He lifted their hands and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles without thinking about it.

Carter watched them for a moment. "I suppose it's possible that when people have been through so many incarnations the souls just instantly recognize one another with seemingly no explanation of how they react."

"It makes sense," Oliver said softly, gazing at her intently.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, glancing at Ollie and lifting a hand to cover the one he hand around her shoulders, at least it made sense as to why they didn't seem able to be apart, they had gone over sixty years without each other. She glanced at Carter once more, "why did it take us so long to come back?"

Carter shook his head at that. "That I don't know. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but I don't know why sometimes souls come back within days of having crossed over and why some don't until years later."

She nodded and leaned her head on Ollie's shoulder, sighing deeply, "thank you," she told Carter, "for helping us make sense of it all."

Oliver kissed her forehead softly, closing his eyes for a moment, then turning to look back at him. "Yeah, so, about that nickname you gave me..."

Carter simply smirked.

Chloe smiled softly and nudged Ollie with her elbow.

Hal, who had been quiet for a long time now, sat up and with his eyes still on Ollie, who he had never seen being so intimate with any of the women he'd been with before, cleared his throat a little, "anyone still up for breakfast?" He offered, "Ollie's buying."

Oliver smirked at Hal. "Don't you even want me to introduce you?"

"Sure," he said, smiling, "although I've heard a lot about you, Chloe, so I feel like I know you already." He teased.

Chloe grinned a little and nodded, "I heard a lot about you too, Hal."

Oliver smiled softly and looked between them. "All right. Breakfast's on me."

She leaned in and kissed Ollie's cheek softly then stood up as the two other man did the same.

Oliver rose to his feet as well, sliding his arm around her waist and leading her toward the door. Carter had certainly given them the answers they'd been looking for, but somehow, deep down, Oliver had already known the truth. And he suspected that some part of Chloe had, too.

* * *

They made their way back to the penthouse a couple of hours later, breakfast had been really nice and Chloe had gotten to know Hal a little better, she'd even gotten some stories about Ollie's younger days out of him, but once more, Carter had been the one to do most of the talking, mostly because Chloe and Ollie kept asking him more and more questions. As painful as it was to know that all of those things had happened, that they had both died at such a young age, it was good to finally have answers and make sense of it all.

Although, now that they were on their own again, Chloe knew there was a lot they would have to talk about, at least until they got the call from Dr. Hamilton, "I can't believe I ate so much," she commented quietly as she slid her shoes off and made her way to the couch.

Oliver grinned at that. "I choose to take that as a good sign."

Chloe smiled at that and nodded a little, she was still sure the results for the exam were going to be positive, but Ollie was being a little more cautious about believing she was pregnant, which she completely understood, he didn't want to be disappointed if she wasn't, "shouldn't be much longer until we don't need signs anymore."

He sat down beside her on the sofa, reaching out and pulling her onto his lap. He pressed a soft kiss to her collarbone, then tugged her head down to rest against his chest. Something within him felt completely still, and calm now that they had answers. "I love you."

"I love you," she whispered to him, wrapping her arms around him as she leaned against him then pressed her lips to his neck. Apparently, he'd been all that had been missing in her life.

His arms tightened around her just a little and he shut his eyes. "I've missed you," he whispered almost inaudibly.

Her chest tightened as she took a deep breath, brushing her nose to his neck, "I've missed you too," she said quietly, and she knew they meant more than just the previous night.

Oliver pressed a kiss to her temple, sliding a hand up and down her spine gently. The quiet moment was broken by the ringing of the telephone.

Chloe held her breath and smiled a little, looking down at him and pulling back a little so he could reach into his pocket for it, "answer it?"

He held her gaze as he pressed his ear to the phone. "Hello?"

"Oliver," Emil's voice came through the other side of the line, "I have the results."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "We're ready."

Chloe leaned in closer so she could hear the doctor too and kept her gaze on Oliver.

"Congratulations," Emil said finally, smiling, "it's still very early on, barely three weeks, that's why there haven't been any symptoms, but you can prepare yourselves, they will be coming in another week or so."

He gazed at Chloe for a long moment and then smiled softly. "What kind of symptoms should we be expecting?"

She grinned softly and pressed her nose against his cheek, biting down on her bottom lip.

"The usual, morning sickness, tiredness, I will print out some lists and bring it by as well as lists of things Chloe should and should not eat."

"All right. That'd be great, Emil. We appreciate it." He smiled a bit more, leaning his head against hers.

"Not a problem, call me if you have any questions." Emil said.

"We will." He hung up his phone and set it on the sofa beside him, wrapping his arms around Chloe once more.

Chloe wrapped her arms around him tightly as she lifted her head and leaned her forehead against his, "we're having a baby," she said quietly, smiling.

Oliver closed his eyes, kissing her softly. "Yes, we are," he whispered.

"Are you scared?" She whispered quietly after pressing her lips against his.

"Yes and no," he said, brushing his nose against hers. "If that makes sense."

"It does," she smiled, lifting a hand to cup his cheek, brushing her fingers against his skin, "I'm not scared because it's with you and it feels right like everything else with you, but I am scared about being a mom and not knowing what to do with a baby."

"Yeah, that's exactly how I feel," he murmured, leaning into her touch. And he wasn't surprised that she voiced just that.

"I'm not surprised," she smiled, closing her eyes for a second then looking at him again, "this time, we will make sure nothing gets in the way of our family."

Oliver nodded slightly, kissing her softly. He was going to make sure of that, too. Because he wasn't leaving her side no matter what.


	13. As Time Goes By.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Title: As Time Goes By.  
Authors: chloeas and dl_greenarrow  
Rated: NC-17  
Disclaimer: Not ours. Don't sue. Thanks.  
Summary: This fic is completely AU, it's based on season seven, except Chloe and Oliver never met before, he's still the Green Arrow but they never met when he was in Metropolis.

Chloe smiled as their daughter snuggled against her chest and sighed deeply, her breath evening out and Chloe glanced over at Ollie, "she's asleep," she said quietly, brushing her fingers against the month old's thin golden hair.

He sat down beside her on the bed and smiled softly, stretching out on his side so he was facing them. He reached out and slid one finger into the infant's little hand, which instantly curled around it.

She grinned a little at that and pressed a kiss to their baby's head, "how many times do you think we met her before?"

"I don't know," he whispered, watching her intently and then looking at the baby again.

"She already knows us," Chloe told him quietly, the moment their daughter was born, they had both felt like they were complete, like having her as a part of their family made everything as it should be, like it should have been on their previous life when the war took it all away from them before they could really enjoy it.

Oliver nodded slightly, shifting closer to them and sliding an arm around her shoulders. "She's beautiful, just like her mom," he whispered, kissing Chloe's temple.

Chloe smiled and kissed his jaw, "she's perfect, just like her dad."

He chuckled. "I'm not perfect. Far from it." He turned his head and kissed her cheek.

"You are perfect for us," she told him, smiling softly and glancing down at the baby, "right Erin?"

As if answering her question, the infant opened her mouth wide and yawned.

"I'll take that as a yes," Oliver joked, kissing the child's forehead.

"You should, kids never lie," she told Ollie, shifting closer to him and laying her head against his shoulder.

He rested his head against hers, his gaze shifting to her left hand, to the simple silver band on her finger, and then to the matching one on his. They'd gotten married shortly after their first meeting with Carter Hall, and while Clark Kent had plenty of reservations about it, they hadn't let it stop them. They'd had a small wedding in the backyard of his parents' mansion, where they'd moved into just weeks later. A reminder of his family from when he was a child, and a reminder of the family he had now--the family he'd _always_ had.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," she whispered quietly to him, pressing her lips to his, "so much," she told him quietly, adjusting the baby on her chest but not shifting her too much.

It was still hard to believe that she'd only known him, in this life, for a year, she barely remembered her life before him. They'd been running missions during all of her pregnancy, all the known 33.1s had been destroyed and Lex was currently on the top of FBI's most wanted. He had not been seen for over eight months. Chloe's guess was that he was hiding at some deserted island somewhere and as long as he was far from her family and from harming anyone else, he could be dead for all she cared.

Lois had been coming to visit every weekend, she'd come over on Saturday and spend the night, then leave Sunday after lunch, sometimes Bart gave her a ride, but most of the time, she was coming with her new boyfriend, Clark. He's been getting used to Oliver, mostly thanks to Lois, and to the idea that Chloe was now married and had a baby, but she knew it was hard on him, he'd never dealt with changes very well.

All in all, things couldn't be going smoother. Chloe was back to writing articles as a freelancer but for the next five months, both she and Ollie had put their lives as superheroes on break, they both knew nothing mattered as much as their family.

He thought he'd miss being Green Arrow more than he actually did, and maybe he'd miss it more as time went by, but frankly, Oliver was just content to spend his days with his wife and their first child. He'd also taken a break from Queen Industries, only going in as necessity dictated, which thankfully, wasn't often. He did most of his work from home. He wasn't sure he ever wanted to go back to the strict double-work regime he'd been engaging in for such a long time, frankly. And it wasn't like they needed the money. Time would tell. He leaned down and kissed Chloe softly, closing his eyes.

A soft smile appeared on her lips and she kissed him back, whenever she had both of them with her like this, touching both, being close and knowing they were together and safe, she didn't want anything else, all her life had led her up to this, brought her to exactly where she was now.


End file.
